Don’t Zip Me Up

March 8 – March 30, 2025

Through Don’t Zip Me Up, Paloma Vianey seeks to challenge common misconceptions about her birthplace and hometown, Ciudad Juarez, which from 2008 to 2012 was widely labeled as, “the most dangerous city in the world.” While crime and violence has drastically decreased, the city is still regarded as unsafe by native Mexicans and foreigners alike. Vianey attempts to destigmatize Ciudad Juarez by depicting its vernacular landscape. She presents the city not as the epicenter of cartel related violence, as depicted in literature and film, but as a lived community. By providing each work with a canvas chamarra (Mexican Spanish word for jacket), Vianey personifies the city, affording it warmth and dignity.

Artist Statement

As an artist from the U.S.-Mexico border, I explore narratives about my home city, Ciudad Juárez, and its geographical, political, and cultural circumstances. I began painting during my teenage years when Juarez’s violence peaked. As the city flooded with violence, painting became a cathartic activity that gave me a sense of freedom I had never experienced. Since then, I have been using art as a visual language for social justice. I also narrate my experience of crossing the U.S.-Mexico border every day for years, exposing the realities of this barrier aggressively dividing the North American landscape. With the paintbrush, I explore alternative processes of painting and experiment with the addition of symbolic materials. Through historical, photographical, and anecdotal references, I create paintings that provide both care and reflection to Juárez and the border. Observing painting as an act of care, I attempt to portray the resilience of this city where 1.6 million citizens live.