The Fire, 2020
The anchor of this temporary, virtual exhibition (June 2020) was a large burned sign that once read "27 Acre Land For Sale, By Owner, 818.568.9999". Hernandez was originally drawn to the sign after noticing that someone had spray-painted the words “Abolish Class Society" on top of it. A week after he finished a small painting of this tableau in summer 2019, the entire Glendale hillside and sign burned in a wildfire. Shortly after the fire, Hernandez removed the charred sign and constructed a modular apparatus with the intent of temporarily displaying it in contested landscapes. Inspired by the history of predatory land use in American history, Hernandez creates a memorial to the myth of American Exceptionalism. In its temporary desert installation, the sign is flanked by six concrete paintings, created from reconstituted chunks of broken red curbs in Los Angeles. Once demarcating “No Parking” zones, the concrete surfaces are now painted with images representing our national identity and current crises. In the center of the installation are seven bibles, embossed with gold names, punctured with holes corresponding to the number of times the individual was shot.
