[Hydrocarbons Series]

Cuevas began working with tar as a raw material in 2007 after taking a trip to Campeche along the Gulf of Mexico to search for natural chapopoteras (tar pits). In Ciudad del Carmen, she collected photos taken by oil rig workers as well as newspaper clippings documenting an accident on one of the nearby rigs that was on fire for two months. The initial installation gathered objects related to marine exploration and a collection of local materials that the artist dipped in crude oil in reference to pre-Hispanic practices that used this material to cover sculptures.

The series of landscapes begins with the oro- graphic research conducted by geologist Ezequiel Ordóñez—who located the first commercial produc- tion well to be drilled in Mexico in the early twentieth century. First are volcanoes, then seascapes, and then icebergs, all dipped in tar that is constantly dripping off in a semi-solid state.

Another of the iconic objects intervened by Cuevas is the Mexican flag, whose green and white sections were covered with tar, resulting in a red and black flag, which alludes to the symbolism of the worker strikes.

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