“Lo que se ve, no se pregunta”: Creating Queer Space in the Work of José Villalobos

Abstract

This article examines the work of multidisciplinary artist José Villalobos through a queer Latinx lens using the theory of “disidentification” as put forth by José Esteban Muñoz and argues that Villalobos makes space for queer visibility and representation within Tejano norteño culture by subverting culturally specific objects that often perpetuate, sometimes violently, traditional Mexican and Mexican-American gender norms. By critically analyzing two artworks, Soledad (loneliness) (2022), a mixed-media triptych that takes the form of an ex-voto, and a performance, A Las Escondidas (Hide-and-Seek) (2019), this study demonstrates how Villalobos challenges gender-normative thinking in border culture through his artworks by incorporating the body and its adornments. Villalobos utilizes his body in his performances and the implied body in his installations and assemblages to critique and subvert homophobia. By doing so, he grafts queer identity onto norteño iconography to carve out space for representation and inclusion for himself and other members of the queer community.