Opening of “Echoes of Abandonment” by Mónica Arreola
Mónica Arreola
Echoes of Abandonment: Photographs of a Utopia
May 11 - June 15, 2024
BEST PRACTICE is excited to present “Echoes of Abandonment: Photographs of a Utopia,” an exhibition of a long-term project by Tijuana-based artist and photographer Mónica Arreola. The project documents abandoned housing projects in Tijuana. For several years, her work has focused on taking pictures of these contemporary ruins resulting from the 2008 financial crisis, which rippled across the globe.
Real state speculation led to the abandonment of several housing projects all over Mexico. The images presented in this exhibition are part of Valle San Pedro series, titled after a sustainable satellite city planned in Tijuana’s outskirts. Through the use of images, the artist explores the alteration of the landscape and the social complexities of the people who inhabit these spaces. Arreola produces these works as records that provide evidence of public policy failure around housing development in undeveloped areas at the periphery of the city. Themes of echo, ruins, oblivion, and their impact on the landscape all emerge from this work.
Mónica Arreola is an interdisciplinary artist based in Tijuana, Mexico. She is part of the National System of Art Creators (2022-2025)