La defensa del maiz

Two artists from the collective "Lapiztola", Rosario Martinez and Roberto Vega, traveled to MOA in May 2018 to install 6 sets of stencils (3289/99-104) in the exhibition "Arts of Resistance: Politics and the Past in Latin America". The exhibition label for "La defensa del maiz" read: "This graffiti installation by Lapiztola, Oaxaca, Mexico, links the struggle against transgenic maize with Indigenous empowerment. The artists have used pre-Hispanic maize symbols to associate Indigenous communities with historical Mesoamerican civilizations. Maize agriculture is at the root of Mesoamerica's earliest civilizations. Cultivation of maize that has been altered through genetic engineering (transgenic maize) is now being authorized by the Mexican government. This maize is sold cheaply across the country, affecting the Indigenous and locally grown maize market. Transgenic maize is less nutritious, and the profits it generates are not shared with Mexico's poorest agricultural communities."

Stencil set showing stock of maize. Stencils installed as a set of nine: three rectangles high, three layers deep. Each stencil layer was aerosol painted with a different colours - bright green, dark purple, and black.