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Abstract
In Latin American cities such as Bogota, private buses feature heavily in the profile of mass transportation available to the urban populous. The small business-people who own and run these buses heavily customise and modify the generic designs of their vehicles. Such “mods” are said to reflect the personalities of their owners: each bus is unique in its decoration, colouring, interior design, bodywork, and “face”. The Colectivo Ejecutivo research group, led by Ross Harley, was comprised to document, analyse and re-present these forms in the context of art, design and popular mod culture.
Working with the anthropomorphic personality of these buses in the context of an urban visual anthropology, the research team have catalogued and revealed a custom-culture that is in stark contrast to the regime of standardisation that presently dominates the global metropolis. The series of lightboxes, paintings and objects presents an important intervention into the way we perceive the dynamic and personalised spaces of contemporary global culture. It also sheds new light on a custom-culture that is being challenged and replaced by the imported designs and auto-mobilities favoured by local government authorities.
The significance of the work is attested to by its selection for inclusion in the important national exhibition Salon Nacional at the Museum of Modern Art, Bogota; its inclusion as a featured work in Art-Basel-Miami 2004; and its exhibition in significant commercial gallery exhibitions at Casas Riegner Gallery, Miami, and Galeria Diners, Bogota.