Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
I didn’t expect to be so moved. It was a simple portrait exhibit in a hallway but it caught me off guard. What I initially chocked up to simply a groovy, fun project stirred much deeper emotions.
And that was before I saw my friends’ faces in it. Then my dear man’s. Then my own.
Axle Contemporary
The exhibit was at The University Museum at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces but it was forged in the towns of south-central and southwest New Mexico.
The E Pluribus Unum: Mogollon exhibit was the final stage of a larger project that is the brainchild of Matthew Chase-Daniel and Jerry Wellman of Axle Contemporary. They collected thousands of portraits of New Mexicans throughout the state over the last 14 years. And they did it all in a mobile art space and solar-powered photo studio retrofitted from an aluminum bread truck.
The idea was for people to bring an object of special significance with them to the photo booth for their portrait. The goal? To create a portrait of the region of this moment in time and highlight that we are all unique individuals but also part of a larger whole.
Our turn
The final destination for the project was Silver City—our home base. They were set up with the mobile booth during our fantastic Southwest Print Fiesta. The day we visited the mobile photo studio during the Fiesta market, we hadn’t planned to participate. (I’d much rather be behind the lens than in front of it.)
Ever in “work mode,” we’d simply gone to meet the men behind this intriguing project on behalf of our budding Southwest Art Towns project. But of course they convinced us to step into the photo booth. I hadn’t given thought to bringing a special item with me.
I dug through my bag, scrambling to find something. The only item I had on me to represent something important in my life was a business card.
I don’t know what I would have brought instead if I’d given it thought. My motorcycle helmet maybe. In the end, the business card was probably the best thing I could have used.
Having to suddenly pull out a business card as a symbol of my life made me pause and take stock of how important “Val in Real Life LLC” is to me. I’ve been plucking away at this business for over 15 years through the ups and downs, pivots, surprises, and everything else. It stopped me in my tracks for a moment but I couldn’t linger. It was time to have my portrait taken.
Impact
That was in fall of 2024. In 2025, standing amongst the 800-plus portraits in the Mullennix Bridge Gallery the next summer, the goal of the project finally hit home for me.
I slowly walked down the first side of the hall and took in the many rows and columns of smiling faces of people I don’t know. The commonality I have with all of these people as a fellow New Mexican sank in.
A sense of New Mexican pride wrapped in curiosity about these people washed over me. I finished considering that side of the hall and turned to the other. My heart swelled to see my friends’ and colleagues’ faces begin to appear in the massive collage of portraits. Seeing what they were holding and—unlike the other portraits—having the personal insight of knowing why they chose that object, was powerful.
Eventually I came upon my dear man’s portrait. It was strange and beautiful to see that face—the one I love so dearly–in this sea of faces. And then there was my own right underneath it.
“All those faces, all those hearts”
This line comes from one of my all-time favorite movies—Hector and the Search for Happiness* (affiliate link).
In one particular scene, a character recollects seeing the faces of all of the people she loves as if they were on a merry-go-round. Standing in that hallway surrounded by hundreds of portraits, it felt somewhat like that. Except I only know a small portion of the people. The rest are strangers to me.
That’s when this project really hit home. External narratives and distractions were largely stripped away with the exception of clothing and a special item. It was simply portraits of 800-plus New Mexicans of all ages, races, professions, and histories brought together in one story. It is a stark reminder that in spite of our differences, the big picture is that we’re all in this together.
From many, one
And that’s the point. This exhibit forces the viewer to ask themselves a lot of questions about assumptions we make, biases we hold, and how we choose to divide ourselves.
Foremost for me though was, what is my piece of this humanity puzzle? What is it I add to the story? And is it making our community a better place?
I don’t have all the answers but there is one thing I do know. We are New Mexico.
E Pluribus Unum.
We’re all in this together.
Welcome to the softer side of Val. I promise I’ll get back to my normal, cussy self next time. Until then, I hope you’ll take a beat to find a connection with the people you encounter as you’re going about your day. We have a lot more in common than we usually take time to find.
Cheers, friends!
*By clicking on an affiliate link, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this site!
Leave a Reply