Franz Mayer Museum’s ‘Disonancia Mexicana’ references the experiences of a mestizo

Mexico City’s Franz Mayer Museum is currently showcasing ‘Disonancia Mexicana’ or ‘Mexican Dissonance’, an exhibition centred around the relationship between design and identity in contemporary Mexico. Curated by Mexico based delaO Design Studio, the exhibition serves as the culmination of several years of research work by the studio. All the showcases that form part of the exhibition were created taking Mexican identity as a starting point. They capture the essence of coming from a mixed race, that is, being a mestizo. "Being mestizo is an essential aspect of the Mexican experience, and being mestizo is living in constant cognitive dissonance," says José de la O, director of delaO design studio, explaining how the title of the exhibition was derived from the term “cognitive dissonance”.

As a mestizo himself, José de la O understands the dual lives that people from mixed cultures and races lead. This especially curated exhibition serves to bring focus to the extrinsic and intrinsic aspects that manifest as a consequence of dual identities, lives and environments. "As mestizos, we live in a permanent contradiction of our human condition; we constantly shape our identity to face this mental conflict," says José.

‘Mexican Dissonance’ serves to capture the experience of miscegenation, which entails, among other things, a perpetual internal disharmony of beliefs, ideas and emotions, as a result of having two conflicting thoughts at the same time. Apart from serving as the exploratory ground for dissonative introspection, the exhibition also draws attention to the difficulty that countries and individuals with ever-changing personalities face in terms of developing a unique design identity. The design identity of a place is heavily influenced by the culture practised there. It borrows values and meanings and imbues new objects and creations with their essence, such that these objects, symbols, patterns or structures begin to serve as identifiable features of that place. However, in an ever changing environment, such relics are hard to demarcate.

delaO Design Studio presented their collection ‘Disonancia Doméstica’ or ‘Domestic Dissonance’ as part of the exhibition. Comprising a series of electronic products, the objects designed by them serve to allude to the theme of the exhibition through these everyday objects. Comprising a clock, lock, speaker and display, their objects pique curiosity and trigger debates. Each object utilises a combination of industrial design and Mexican design features and aesthetics. They are made out of abstract shapes and forms and are designed in response to the many insecurities that Mexicans have.

The Ahorita Clock, designed like a windmill, with broad hand endings, communicates the approximate time, thus leaving space for prolonging arrivals or departures as per convenience. The Mentira Lock, on the other hand, features four buttons that can be alternatively used to unlock it. Both these objects address the insecurity and dread that Mexicans feel in terms of commitments and security respectively. The Gandalla Speaker by the studio features as an object that can be carried and used anywhere, thus expanding a person’s space, while invading others, a practice oft witnessed in Mexico. The studio’s final item, the Hubiera Display, comprises the values of a Mexican peso against 1 USD. It serves as a reminder of the disparity that exists between the two nations and alludes to the possibility of an alternate state in which the country could have existed had it not been invaded in the 1990s.

Founded in 2010 in Eindhoven in The Netherlands, delaO design studio is an industrial design studio headed by José de la O. The design studio, now based in Mexico City, also specialises in design-driven research. Through design driven tactics, delaO design studio aims to investigate how design and identity in Mexico communicate with each other and how they impact each other. By bringing together a retinue of creatives who use Mexican identity as a starting point, the studio has successfully been able to showcase the different branches that can emerge from the same point of inception, namely Mexican identity.

The exhibition features a series of hypothetical objects and art installations that present the individual creative visions of designers. Done with the intention of exploring future possibilities and serving as expressions of alternate cultural realities, these non-real objects and conceptual designs “challenge traditional usability of design to question a true emotional function”. One may define the objects displayed at the gallery as physical manifestations of abstract theories. Since they can be seen, they appear more accessible than theories. Some of the designers who are currently showcasing their works at the exhibition include Liliana Ovalle, Jorge Diego Etienne, Kytzhia Barrera and Oscar Hagerman, among others.

This art exhibition is the first in a series of works that will be presented by the Franz Mayer Museum as part of a new project. The museum’s project, conceptualised with the intention of presenting public research exercises pertaining to different creative fields and topics, will soon witness several innovative research projects exploring different aspects of design.

The exhibition ‘Disonancia Mexicana’ will remain on display from 30 March to 12 June 2022 at the Franz Mayer Museum in Mexico City, Mexico.