The Flowering of Succulents

Fabián Cháirez is one of the most provocative and controversial visual artists on the Latin American cultural scene. His works are known for their critical nature and their exploration of the male body through the lens of gender performativity. Media attention focused on the young artist, who detached himself from the attacks and criticisms his work “La Revolución” received, in which he depicted Emiliano Zapata riding a horse, naked and wearing heels.

The pieces exhibited in The Flowering of Succulents challenge the canons of masculine gender representation and depict naked bodies in non-normative attitudes. These serve as a counterpoint to the hegemonic masculinity accepted by society: the strong, muscular, and energetic man who follows the stereotypes established by patriarchy. The feminized bodies appear surrounded by attributes linked to the ruggedness of traditional masculinity—the charlo hat or the bull—and by natural elements typical of the arid landscape, such as cacti and other succulent plants, highly resistant to adverse climates.

Succulents appear in bloom—a phenomenon that occurs only once a year—displaying another aspect, beautiful and delicate, intrinsic to them but less recognizable. Likewise, bodies assert other masculinities while appropriating and redefining symbols of virility.