Lxs Dos

Lxs Dos is made up of the incredibly talented couple, Christian (Chris) and Ramon (Ray) Cardenas, who we were introduced to from their recent article in Remezcla. The article features their Sister Cities/Ciudades Hermanas mural, which is situated a block away from the Paso del Norte Port of Entry. The mural radiates warmth and echoes solidarity from its location next to a profoundly militarized Border Patrol post. Though it’s now their most visible work, Ciudades Hermanas reflects a larger commitment to the folks they’re in community with, their subject matter often paying tribute to the workers, healers, journalists, luchadores, and others who make El Paso—Ciudad Juárez the truly special confluence it is. Their public artworks — just as the subjects they depict — cross the border, as they frequently collaborate with the Juárez-based Jellyfish Colectivo. Their recent collaboration, Home, runs the entire length of the Durango bridge in downtown El Paso, and was made alongside dozens of members of the community.

In addition to honoring those who currently inhabit the region, they also draw on the indigenous material culture of the area, paying homage to the craft and labor of artisans that have come before them. Through their activism — which is inseparable from their arts-making — they’re combating gentrification in El Paso, leveraging art as a tool to preserve the unique sense of place of the Chihuahuita neighborhood, and the city at-large. We were able to see them in community artistically and politically, and the warmth that radiates from Ciudades Hermanas can be felt simply from their welcoming presence.

2018 has already been a busy year thus far for them, as they’ve hosted workshops with local middle and high school students to help facilitate learning about immigration through the arts, their solo exhibition Makeshift opened at the Branigan  Cultural Center in Las Cruces, NM, and their printmaking was shown at the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, TX, as part of Desert Triangle Print Carpeta, an exhibition that also features the work of Zeke Peña, Francisco Delgado, and Jellyfish Colectivo.

Keep up with Lxs Dos on Instagram @losdos_maintainstudio and buy some merch from their site here.