El Paso-based artist Angel Cabrales’s series The Uncolonized: Axihuical revolves around a futuristic parallel universe in which Europeans never colonized the Western Hemisphere.
El Paso, Texas | angelcabrales.com | @aztechonaut
Within El Paso-based artist Angel Cabrales’s multimedia practice, it is often uncertain whether you are peering into the past or future. You may see a miniature taco truck transformed into an artillery device. Or a pyramid atop the toothed wheels of a military tank. Often, ancient Aztec motifs fuse with sci-fi elements in the ultimate clash of artifact and technology. He explores his culture and ancestral history through these ingenious and humorous artistic inventions, which are underpinned by unwavering sociopolitical commentary.
“Growing up Mexican American, I was taught to take pride in my Mexican heritage, but what that meant was never clearly defined,” says Cabrales. Thus, the research into his Indigenous heritage began. As he unearthed his own complex lineage, he also learned of the rich, technologically advanced civilizations that existed in pre-Columbian Mesoamerica. This is what led to Cabrales’s series, The Uncolonized: Axihuical, which revolves around a parallel universe in which Europeans never colonized the Western Hemisphere and Indigenous communities progressed and flourished.
In this alternate timeline, the Indigenous people form a superpower: Aztechnonauts travel through the cosmos, Mayathmaticians conquer advanced formulas, Olmchemists devise both molecular and atomic solutions, and Zapotecknical engineers build the infrastructure of the future.
The series is as rich conceptually as it is materially. Small-scale figurines are clad with Mesoamerican glyphs and traditional serape textile patterns, wielding lightsaber-esque weapons. These figures come to life through costumes fabricated by Cabrales, which are donned and activated through interactive performances. He also utilizes the power of AI animation to create trippy scenes where his characters explore the galaxy aboard their fantastical spaceship. His multiverse is ultimately meant to conjure interest in untaught Indigenous histories while sparking wonder and curiosity.
Cabrales wears many hats. He is a scientist. An artist. An engineer. A designer. He is constantly evolving, simultaneously discovering and creating new worlds and realities.
