Tattooed Gang Members as Skin Rugs

Renato Garza Cervera is an artist from Mexico City who has a pretty interesting mind. For instance, in this Of Genuine Contemporary Beast project he looked at a “bear skin rug” and saw a “bare skin rug.” For this project he turned tattooed bodies of gang members into rugs. In his artist’s statement he says that this is not how he, per se, views gangbangers but how the media portrays them—as animals.

“Societies always invent new beasts in order to make others responsible for their problems, to express their fears and to invent them a new cover.
Mass media play a very important role on this world-wide scapegoating process, by presenting some minorities as uncapable of thinking or feeling, delayed and dispensable people.

Of Genuine Contemporary Beast is a group of hyper-real sculptures depicting Mara Salvatruchas as flayed animal skins turned into rugs. The MS-13 and MS-18 gangs, originated in the 80’s in the Los Angeles area represent, among others, a minority which has been recently processed by the Caliban Factories.”