Edgar Solórzano

Household Hegemon: Domestic and Affective Traces of US Influence in Mexico in the 1950s and 1990s

Household Hegemon: Domestic and Affective Traces of US Influence in Mexico in the 1950s and 1990s is a collection of personal essays, historical research, and fictional texts that examine the impact of US-American soft power on Mexican society. This project expands and deepens the research and work developed during my two-year MFA in Sculpture at RISD, evolving material investigations into a comprehensive written and visual record of the 1950s post-WWII boom and the 1990s post-NAFTA transition. These two decades not only represent the most significant in terms of American influence but also the years in which my parents and I grew up in Mexico.

By blending historical analysis with fictional narratives and personal anecdotes, the work reveals how macro-scale global forces manifest within the domestic realm. My family and personal history serve as a primary site of investigation, showing how geopolitical shifts affect personal experiences and domestic life. This comparative historical approach provides a lens for understanding the exportation of the “picket fence dream,” a set of aspirations regarding masculinity, success, and individualism that were attached to the American way of life and marketed as the global standard for modern families. Specifically, my research examines several key “actants” of cultural influence: houses, cars, food, movies, and linguistics. These topics illustrate how ideologies translate into material objects consumed by my family or me. Through this collection, I aim to develop tools to better navigate these inherited aspirations, recognizing that they are fundamentally unattainable for the vast majority of populations who consumed American culture in this way.

An embrace (for us)
2025
Stapled fake flower petals, and galvanized steel
75 x 75 x 3"

They hung out the wash
2025
Modified wooden clothespins and galvanized steel clothesline
10 x 7 x 7"

From afar, locusts and grass
2025
Pre-owned American blinds, drywall cutouts of invasive flowers, audio loop 6:00 long
90 x 90 x 3"

An amber landscape
2025
Broken glassware, upholsery fabric, bricks, and cement
95 x 18 x 4"

A domestic scene (metastasis)
2025
Upholstery fabric, wooden furniture, photo frames, chair and lamp

Pearl-Corn Ear
2024
Faux American pearls, natural Mexican corn husk and corn starch PLA
22 x 15 x 10 cm

Breakfast 7: Demand
2024
Crushed faux American pearls, epoxy resin, alcohol ink, stainless steel and ceramic bowl
20 x 20 x 15 cm
 

Father and Son (American muscle)
2025
Steel family-size cereal box, duct tape, electrical tape
21 x 29 x 5", plus tape install