Vincent Valdez "Strangest Fruit"

When I walked into this gallery I suddenly noticed that the viewers of the exhibition were in some ways very similar to the individuals on the eight panels on the walls.  I liked the similarity and the differences between the people and the paintings.  This is another powerful work by Vincent Valdez called "Strangest Fruit."  The Strangest Fruit depicts contemporary Latinos contorted as if hanged from trees while also appearing as rising up like ascensions. The postures for these paintings refer to the lynching of Mexicans and Mexican Americans along the Texas-Mexico border, a near-forgotten and ignored history that took place in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.  Really powerful and moving piece to see.