Artist depicts LA's Latino communities with colorful thread

Erick Medel's thread art shows immigrant communities

Sewing machines are commonly used to create clothing and accessories, but for artist Erick Medel, they are full-fledged artistic tools. Using colorful thread on deep blue, heavy denim, Medel depicts the daily life of the Latino community in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles, where he lives. His images, which blur the lines between photography and memory, truly capture the vibrancy of the area.

Medel began experimenting with thread art in 2019. “Back then, I was creating soft sculptures out of fabric, then I started to introduce threads into the work to add small details,” he tells My Modern Met. “In 2020, during the lockdowns, I started to think of the sewing machine as a drawing tool, which led me to experiment with this process, using mostly denim and threads. Eventually, I started stretching it over a frame like a canvas.”

Medel works primarily from photographs, but sometimes he creates a composition himself. His art focuses on the immigrant communities of Boyle Heights, through which he has rekindled a relationship with his heritage. “After I returned from the East Coast for graduate school, I began to understand my identity better,” the artist recalls. “I moved to a neighborhood with a lot of Latino immigrants, which reminded me a lot of my childhood in Mexico. I find it very inspiring and that’s why I make my work about it.”

In Medel’s works, the intangible connection between community members acts as a common thread. Whether it’s a tray full of pan dulce at a local bakery, a man painting a mural, a floral arrangement next to a door, or happy couples dancing together in a plaza, there is always a sense of life. Even though many figures remain faceless, the energy of the community remains. Boyle Heights is clearly the place where many have felt comfortably at home.

Although only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the feeling of belonging is universal. That’s why Medel hopes his works “create some kind of connection on a human level, even if they’re not from the same background as me.” He says, “If it can evoke a memory or emotion, that’s a success for me. I hope that people from my community recognize themselves or their loved ones in the works.”

The exhibition Erick Medel: Vidas runs through August 31 at the Charlie James Gallery in Los Angeles. For more information, visit the gallery’s website.

Erick Medel uses colorful threads to depict the everyday life of the Latino community in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles.

His images, which blur the boundaries between photography and memory, skilfully capture the vibrancy of the area.

In Medel’s works, the intangible connection between community members serves as a common thread.

Even though only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the sense of belonging is universal.

That’s why Medel hopes that his works “create some kind of connection on a human level, even if they don’t come from the same background as me.”

Erick Medel: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to show photographs of the Charlie James Gallery.

Artists combine thread painting with the Japanese art of Kintsugi on vintage plates

Artist uses fruit and vegetable crates as canvas for portraits of immigrant farm workers who provide our food

Artist creates realistic embroidery of special moments and beloved pets to spread love and inner peace

Stunning embroidered still lifes made of countless stitches of colorful yarn

Artist depicts LA’s Latino communities with colorful thread

Erick Medel uses colorful threads to depict the everyday life of the Latino community in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles.

His images, which blur the boundaries between photography and memory, skilfully capture the vibrancy of the area.

In Medel’s works, the intangible connection between community members serves as a common thread.

Even though only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the sense of belonging is universal.

That’s why Medel hopes that his works “create some kind of connection on a human level, even if they don’t come from the same background as me.”

Related articles:

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Erick Medel uses colorful threads to depict the everyday life of the Latino community in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles.

His images, which blur the boundaries between photography and memory, skilfully capture the vibrancy of the area.

In Medel’s works, the intangible connection between community members serves as a common thread.

Even though only a handful of people live in Boyle Heights, the sense of belonging is universal.

That’s why Medel hopes that his works “create some kind of connection on a human level, even if they don’t come from the same background as me.”

Related articles:

Related Posts

Leave a Reply Cancel reply