Yesterday I ventured into the hip and fashionable Roma neighborhood of Mexico City for a Saturday brunch. Unwittingly, I happened to pass by a sculpture that I'd seen before in numerous posts on social media: an Olmec Head sitting on top of a Tesla. I didn't expect to actually see it myself, since it's been quite long ago that I first heard about it. Then each time someone posted it again, weeks or even months later, it felt so much like old news that I actually doubted that this sculpture was still there. Today I can positively say, it is!
Trolling Musk Before It Was Cool
The artist behind this piece is Mexican sculptor Chavis Mármol, who created it with the help of the Colima 71 hotel, who owns the adjacent plot this sculpture sits on. The piece was completed in March 2024, back before it became fashionable to set Tesla vehicles and dealerships on fire.
The sculpture was a reaction to Elon Musk's announcement in March 2023 to open up a gigafactory of Teslas in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. Apparently it was not even necessary to side with Donald Trump and throw Nazi salutes to receive this kind of provocation. As the article on the Colima 71's own website explains, the sculpture is supposed to "question the prevailing narratives surrounding technological progress and rampant consumption".
The Cost of Art
This piece of art was probably not cheap to make. However, the most expensive aspect of this sculpture is probably neither the Tesla (bought used without batteries), nor the Olmec head (which most certainly is a replica of the actual archeological artifact). Instead, it would be this area itself, nestled between the buildings, offering a potential patio garden, or whatever amenity the boutique hotel may want to use it for. We're in la Roma, after all, where real estate is highly valued, not despite but precisely because of the old brick walls and graffiti covered concrete. On the other hand, I am certain that the Colima 71 is benefiting even more from this installation, especially now, that the anti Tesla sentiment is reaching all-time highs.
Sure, Nice, But Is It Street-Art?
Personally I would say no. Strictly speaking, it is not even out in the streets, as the area is cut off from public access by a heavy iron fence. Also, it is not something where any other street artist could come and add their own tags. Hahaha, imagine Mármol's Olmec head being crushed by some rank graffiti! So for this reason I'm not even including this post in CCC's Street Art Contest #252, where you can see plenty of great examples of actual street art every week. Also, since this is not anything like a mural, it won't go into my long and ongoing Mexican Murals collection. However, since I mentioned both, I can recommend you to visit them to check out some wall paintings
that may be even more spectacular than an overpriced electric vehicle under a heavy Mesoamerican stone head.