ART
interview by SAMANTHA OZER
photography by OLIVIER ZAHM
all artwork copyright paloma contreras lomas
artist and writer paloma contreras lomas draws on sci-fi tropes and mexican popular stereotypes to address women’s rights, race, and class issues, with a mix of dark comedy, absurdity, and irony
SAMANTHA OZER — Your work extends to many different media — sculpture, video, writing, drawing, and performance. Across these forms, the symbol of a hat continues to emerge. Tell us about the connection between the hat sculptures — in which you construct extremely detailed landscapes like lush green spaces, desertscapes dotted with cacti, and volcanic fields — and the hats that appear in your films?
PALOMA CONTRERAS LOMAS — I’m interested in how sculptures can also be props. When I started to do the hat sculptures, I was thinking about how the Mexican landscape is being privatized. The first time I started to imagine…