130 E 21st Street – Bernardo Trevizo
Bernardo Trevizo is an artist, illustrator, animator, and painter born and raised in Wichita, Kansas. His parents are immigrants from Chihuahua, Mexico.
My work confronts memories from childhood. The environments I create are psychologically charged. The thick layers of paint carry the presence of what happened in the space. The mark-making and spatial distortions convey a sense of anxiety and panic which is a result of not facing the past. The house serves as space where all moments live from which there is no escape. Ghosted images serve as metaphors for the impressions that these events have left on me. It’s not necessary for the viewer to know what my memories are specifically about, but it can serve as a prompt for their own introspection. My objective for the viewer is to empathize with these images, and not try to decipher a specific narrative.
MURAL DESCRIPTION
I wanted to honor the Indigenous past of Wichita as well as the indigenous past of the people that now live in the north end of Wichita that of course is the Mexicans. With this mural, I want to represent the Indigenous people of Wichita which are the Wichita people who lived on this land for thousands of years before European colonization. The Wichita people are often not represented besides the sculptures near cowtown, and I think they should be I also want to represent the Native people of Mexico since there are so many different nations in Mexico I decided to choose the one that most people are familiar with the Aztecas. My mural will be an open Kansas field where the sun is rising in the background. In the foreground it will be the last Aztec Emperor named Cuauhtémoc, giving an elote con mayonesa, cotija cheese, and tajin, to the Wichita chief Wee-Ta-Ra-Sha-Ro. Elote is a popular treat among Mexicans that goes back thousands of years. It is now very popular in Wichita as well as everywhere else. The gift of the elote that Cuauhtémoc is giving Wee-Ta-Ra-Sha-Ro will be centered to the sun in the background which represents the sharing of this land that happens today as well as the many cultures that live in Wichita, but it also represents the similar fates that all indigenous people share.
