Images(4)

Bestia C (Beast C)

Date2013

Maker Moris (Israel Meza Moreno) Mexican, born 1978

Label TextThe title of this work references La Bestia, the nickname of the infamous freight train that thousands of migrants ride on top of to reach Mexico’s border with the United States. Also known as El Tren de la Muerte, or the Train of Death, migrants undertake this highly dangerous journey in a desperate attempt to escape corruption, violence, and poverty. In Moris’s hands, La Bestia becomes an ominous hybrid creature. With its snail-like body, composed of tire treads that falsely suggest speed and motion, and its horned faceless head, it is unclear whether this strange amalgamation is friend or foe.

Object number2023.22.5

ProvenanceThe artist; [Galeria y Proyectos NF SL, Madrid]; purchased from gallery by Dennis Braddock and Janice Niemi, Seattle, Washington, March 2016

Photo CreditPhoto: Scott Leen

Exhibition HistorySeattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, Material Presence, January 18 - July 14 2024.

Credit LineGift of Dennis Braddock in memory of Janice Niemi

Dimensions40 x 25 x 60 in. (101.6 x 152.4 x 63.5 cm)

MediumTire, concrete, horns