Not So Much in Words: Kinship Citations
Works by Place as Practice Research Collective (Deanna Ledezma, Josh Rios, and Anthony Romero)
Curated by Deanna Ledezma
0102 BVAC, Black Family Visual Arts Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
January 6, 2026 to April 6, 2026
The title of this exhibition, Not So Much in Words: Kinship Citations, borrows from a phrase spoken by Josh Rios's uncle, David Garcia, during a visit to the Smiley Latin American Cemetery in rural Texas. While tending the cemetery grounds, Garcia paused the revving motor of a weed eater to speak with his nephew. As he approached the gravestones, he gestured toward the names inscribed in granite, imparting his knowledge of the genealogical connections among relatives buried at the cemetery. Their conversation then turned from the factual aspects of family trees to the lesser discussed conditions of their Mexican ancestors' lives under the specter of racialized violence. As Garcia recounted these anecdotes, he acknowledged how he came to know these and other stories: "Grandpa would always tell us...not so much in words."
Collaborating as the Place as Practice Research Collective, artists and scholars Deanna Ledezma, Josh Rios, and Anthony Romero examine the narratives and histories of their Mexican American and Mexican immigrant families in the Texas Hill Country and South Central Texas. As descendants of families who primarily spoke Spanish, faced socioeconomic barriers to formal education, and migrated from their ancestral homeland, the collective recognizes the written and spoken word as but one modality for acquiring, demonstrating, and sharing knowledge across generations and diasporas. Together, they endeavor to gain a deeper appreciation for how their relatives have conveyed their Iived experiences, shared memories, and engaged in creative practices. Their attention requires an attunement to the quiet and the quotidian, and a return to places familiar yet susceptible to change and loss. The sculptures, video installation, and photographs in this exhibition belong to an ever-growing archive of kinship citations.
Place Setting I, 2026, kitchen table, Plexiglas boxes, crocheted doilies inherited from Maria Ledezma, artists' familyphotographs printed on cling film, Cooking and Curing With Mexican Herbs: Recipes and Remedies Gathered in Múzquiz, Coahuila, pecan nut sheller, H-E-B receipt from 1980, pecans foraged in Texas, artificial flowers, ojo de venado, glass horse figurine, Flaco Jimenez cassette tape, Canícula: Snapshots of a Girlhood en la Frontera, foraged mesquite pods, H-E-B storage bag, matchbook from Bantam Cafe, Texas Pecan Cookbook, carport-shed drawing by Josh Rios, miniature brass vase, Standard Spanish-English and English-Spanish Dictionary, glass chicken figurine, colorín necklace. Dimensions variable. (Photo By Dillon Roberts)
