LACMA x Snapchat

On View: April 13 2021 - TBD

5905 Wilshire Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90036 and Anywhere Online

Working in landscapes she feels anchored to, Mercedes Dorame reclaims connection to the land and ancestral knowledge by exploring what it means to exist as a Native inhabitant of contemporary Tovaangar (Los Angeles). Portal for Tovaangar creates an immersive portal that links past, present, and potential future worlds. Viewers engage with what continues to inspire many Native people: the sky, the land, indigenous plant life, celestial bodies, and the infinite ability to connect to these entities and with each other. This work proposes a community healing opportunity, an exploration of truth in understanding Indigenous intrinsic knowledge, and reconciliation. Portal for Tovaangar shifts away from memorializing heroes and singular events to engage the continued and future presence of Native people in this city.

The song included in the piece is inspired by a 1918 wax cylinder recording of Tongva singing:

Kotiikawooken papaaxiiwo | Red-winged blackbird

Yakeenax nechoova yakenax | Dance with me

chawaayavet, chawaayavet | With outstretched wings