Kevin Gochez

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¡HEROES! is a series of self-portrait photographs reflecting the experience of constructing a unique artistic identity as a first generation Mexican-American while navigating a pop-cultural canon dominated by the influence of mostly straight, white men. By appropriating the imagery that covered the walls of my adolescent bedroom and through the use of costume, I am able to assume the identity of both the white, male icons I admired—to the point of idolatry— and the pop-cultural figures of my immigrant parents’ upbringing. This process allows me to rediscover and the explore the Mexican & Salvadoran cultural legacies I deprived myself of through assimilation and begin my journey of decolonizing the imagination.