HECHO IN LA VECINDAD

2017

How can experiences be mapped?

I created this project while I was living in Mexico City. During my stay in CDMX, I noticed a recurring theme of endlessness. To an outsider, neighborhoods seem to span on infinitely, markets appear never ending, and stores are often packed to the brim, requiring time and patience to sort through merchandise.

In experiencing the vastness of this city, I wanted to establish a research methodology that would help me overcome this sensation while also allowing me to experience the uniqueness of the destination in a way that traditional research techniques cannot replicate.

I decided to make lip balm from each neighborhood I visited. By giving myself a specific set of goals and materials list to focus on while exploring each community, I was able to investigate and understand specificities of the area through an explicit lens. "Hecho en la Vecindad" is the manifestation of this research methodology. Each lip balm is created from ingredients unique to each location and sourced entirely from the stated neighborhood.

My decision to use makeup as a documentation tool stems from a conversation I had with the women’s organization APOFAM outside of Puebla, Mexico during my stay in the country. Several of the women spoke to me of the importance of indigenous plants in their personal cosmetic businesses. They explained how their cosmetics demonstrate their individual lives and illustrate many different factors of life in their specific village.

This project also explores the locality of production and removes the clout surrounding the specifications of ingredients, which is especially important in the discussion of cosmetics.

On the project’s website, customers are informed of the exact ingredients comprising each makeup and where they were purchased to enable individuals to make their own decisions regarding the safety of their purchases.

View project website here.