Emmet Prieto Webster: Zero Parecer

About

Zero Parecer is a multimedia tribute to the Mexican telenovela, Rebelde, and RBD, the spin-off teen idol band — both of which gained popularity in the mid-2000s. Working outward from RBD’s bubblegum pop soundscape, the exhibition explores fantasies and speculative realities of the telenovela that were germane to Mexican-American teens, while broadly relating to persistence of pop culture within our collective consciousness. “I gravitated extra hard toward a lot of telenovelas and music as a way to cope with the loss of Spanish in my household,” says Prieto Webster.

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a 17-minute video collage made from found imagery, DIY videos, and clips from Rebelde that dissolve in a dreamy, pixelated pastiche. The frantic and sometimes disorienting glitch art is reminiscent of the cut-and-paste aesthetic of punk rock posters and ‘zines, resulting in an unpolished future that is full of sex, neglect and aggression. Other elements in the exhibition include an outdoor vinyl banner that might be hoisted by mega-fans at a concert; wall-mounted t-shirts, jackets, and pants with airbrushed portraits of the stars in Rebelde; and a wall of CD jewel cases that are positioned like wallpaper in a series of photocopied multiples.

Zero Parecer uses the power of nostalgia and fandom to examine how we process culture, and redigests media tropes that had their moment but are still part of the popular lexicon.