"While it is a contemporary platitude that we have today come to occupy a ‘global village’, as imagined by Marshall McLuhan, we tend to overlook the degree to which this retribalization process would bring us in touch with a dynamics that totemic cultures had long sought to control." - Geert Lovink

Everybody Gangsta Till Life Lose Meaning explores the advent of contemporary degenerate culture and the resurgence of tribalism across social networks. Artists Jackie Valadez and Felipe Pagan activate the space using video, sculpture, painting and drawing to offer a voyeuristic look into a world of self isolation. This imagined nest exists as a hotbed of degradation and a cradle for angst, grief and hopelessness. A space where raw internalized emotion is put on display.

 

 

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Jackie Valadez is an interdisciplinary artist currently practicing in Milwaukee, WI. Valadez’s work serves as an exploration of fringe subcultures, the internet, and interpersonal communication. Jackie pieces together various modes of narrative fragments, sourcing ready-made images, materials, and objects, for a closer look at the many ways change happens and how it affect individuals and communities. Housed within emotional spaces both literal and figurative, Valadez develops a unique visual language paired with writing to create vignettes for their viewers.

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Felipe Pagan is a interdisciplinary artist currently practicing in Milwaukee, WI. Pagan was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and received his BFA  from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design  in New Studio Practice.  Pagan's work examines the internet and networked cultures, referencing elements of pop culture to question emerging sub cultures and micro-movements.