Panuelos
2016-2020
I have been spending time in Argentina since 2007.
I am a student of it's unique culture and history.
These handkerchiefs are imaginary souvenirs, fortuitious mistranslations, fantasies of my imagined history.
They refer to the circumstances of geographic isolation, cultural drift, and Industria Argentina.
They are love letters, embroidered on traditional gentleman's handkerchiefs.Of course, the handkerchiefs are made in Buenos Aires, and unavailable anywhere outside of Argentina
Justicialista
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15”
2016
The Gran Sport was a limited production fiberglas sports car with a Porsche engine.The water bottle on the roof is a traditional way to tell the world the car is for sale. Under 20 are known to exist today.Rastrojero
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2016
The people's pickup, made in the fifties for farm and country use. Simple and robust.Pulpo
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2016
Pelota de goma - a rubber ball that was ubiquitious in Argentina from the thirties thru the nineties.Pinguino
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2016
Ceramic wine jugs, used to decant table wine. Usually hand glazed and each one unique.Yruam
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2016
A one off car built by a Philadelphia born civil engineer who built railways thru the Andes.Quilmeslisco
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2016
Quilmes is the national beer, the Obelisco is the national symbol- or is it the other way around?ACA
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2017
The ACA is the Argentine Auto Club, and it built many of the first gas stations in the country, each decorated with its anthrophomorphic sign. The ACA station in Gorchs is famous for its enormous ham sandwiches.Cataratas
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2017
The waterfalls of the city are not natural, they are the result of the tens of thousands of air conditioners pasted all over the buildings, draining into water bottles, cans, and buckets.Bombilla
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2017
The bombilla is the traditional metal straw used to sip yerba mate, the national drink. Hafdasa was the Argentine branch of Hispano Suiza, and they made automobiles, engines, machinery,and firearms, including an unusual all aluminum submachine gun. The Argentine hip-hop artist LL Cool Che is quoted on this depiction of yerba and its necessaries.Nandu
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2017Sevende
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2018
In Argentina, it is common to put a bottle full of water on the roof of a car to indicate it is for sale. Usually, you will write your phone number and the word Sevende on the bottle in marker, to tell the potential buyer how to contact you. Of course, there is no reason this sales technique has to be limited to autos.Siam
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2018
SIAM, or Seccion Industrial Amasadoras Mecanicas, is an Argentine conglomerate that started out making dough kneading machines in 1911, but branched out into making appliances, automobiles, motorcycles, gas pumps, and road graders. The iconic ball shaped handle on its early refrigerators earned the name La Bolita.Brukman
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2018
In 2001, there was an economic crisis in Argentina, which resulted in many companies closing their factories. The employees of many factories refused to quit working, and took over the production themselves. The fifty workers at the Brukman sewing factory kept sewing, and selling, their suits and garments, as did hundreds of other plants throughout Argentina.El Bigote
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2019
It is impossible to describe how important Charly Garcia is in Argentina. He is like the Stones, the Beatles, and Springsteen all rolled into one. And his mysterious moustache, half white and half black, hovers above us all, in my mind, representing the Duality of modern life.Capitan Del Espacio
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2019
Alfajores are small cookie-like treats that are available everywhere in Argentina. One of the iconic brands is Capitan Del Espacio, created in the late 50s, inspired by the Space Race. Its uniquely Argentine, and nostagic and kitsch at the same time, and still sold at every kiosco in town.Los Colectivos Secretos
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2019
Colectivos are the network of buses that serves the city. Each line is different, with different owners, color schemes, and personalities. But there are mysterious gaps in the numbering system. Where are those missing lineas? If you see one, and get on, where will it take you?El Rey de las Migas
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2020
The Miga is the Argentine re-intrepretation of the British Tea Sandwich. I am proposing taking the Miga to the next stage, a cross between a Dagwood Sandwich and Miga-tecture, towering multiple layers of fillings not traditionally used, ranging from pistachio ice cream to whole fried fish.Envios a Domocilio
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2020
Home Delivery is an inalienable right in Buenos Aires, for virtually everything, from airconditioners to a kilo of helado (ice cream). The history of this phenomenon is shown on this panuelo, starting with the first fish who crawled out of the primordial ocean, and projecting the arms race of home delivery into the future.Ochavas
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2020
By law, every intersection in Buenos Aires must be an Octagon, at pedestrian level. All corners must be sliced off, for visibility and for the civic benefit to the city as a whole.El Redondo
Embroidery on panuelo
15” x 15"
2020
Only one of these marvelous cars was ever made, by hand, in Buenos Aires.