Untitled (or Ethnographer Wannabe) stems from a year of research in the Netherlands, where artist Francisco Baquerizo Racines navigated life as a food delivery courier in Utrecht. Observing the pervasive presence of colonial heritage and neoliberal politics, the work asks: Is it possible to generate dialogues like this one in the West?

Referencing Antonio Caro’s Todo está muy caro (1978), Baquerizo Racines reflects on generational and geopolitical distances, positioning himself as both immigrant and observer of his own struggles and desires. His use of canvas critically engages with its colonial role in Ecuadorian history—as a tool for indoctrination and projection of European ideals—while reappropriating it through a Latin American vernacular.

Inspired by the popular graphic language of informal economies in Abya-Yala, the work employs ironic, hybrid imagery that both mimics and subverts Western iconography. This “cultural hacking” reveals localized resistance to the homogenizing forces of modernity.

The wooden wall invites viewers to engage—or not. But once inside, distance becomes impossible. Untitled (or Ethnographer Wannabe) is not a fixed statement, but an unstable experiment—one where failure is not only possible, but productive.

Presented as part of SCAFFOLDING SCAFFOLDING, the 2022 HKU MA Fine Art graduation exhibition, curated by Rachael Rakes at BAK, basis voor actuele kunst, Utrecht.