The Corpus Christi mural is housed at the shared, environmental-justice office for Chispa TX and Texas Campaign for the Environment (TCE) at 1001 Ayers St. in Corpus Christi, TX. Environmental organizer and artist, Joey Gonzales IV, created this mural with the intention to reflect the land reclamation work community members are doing in the Coastal Bend. Besides paint, Joey's main tool in this project was their imagination. “Imagining and envisioning what a world looks like without LNG,” reads the reflection present in the mural’s depiction of a local community garden. The garden captures the land reclamation efforts pursued by multiple organizations in Corpus Christi. Moreover, the element of mobility to the mural emphasizes an accessible relationship with both illustrated and non-illustrated community members. The community can hang and display the mural wherever they deem is most pertinent to their vision. These organizations were chosen to be in the mural due to their continued efforts of maintaining the park, their actions taken against LNG, and their fights against a hostile city council. The groups do not limit their work to Corpus Christi, rather they have made it a point to build coalitions across the harbor bridge. These coalitions encompass areas that have been affected by habitual violators of rules and regulations set forth by the TCEQ: Gregory Portland, Ingleside, Ingleside on the Bay, Sinton, and Robstown. With the expansion of LNG and a worrisome bridge expansion project, land reclamation is the only method Corpus can healthily resist industrial expansion. Through the creation of the mural, coupled with land reclamation, these methods of resistance allow for the communities of Corpus Christi to actively imagine and build what the vision of tomorrow looks like.
Jose Gonzales IV
BIOGRAPHY
Howdy! I am Jose Gonzales the IV, a queer artist and organizer located in Corpus Christi, Texas. While my creative passion and organizing experience is not limited to art, it coalesced more recently when I curated and planned the first-ever LGBTQIA+ art show in South Texas, which exclusively showcased and empowered underrepresented LGBTQIA+ art. The 2022 version of this annual show I put together is titled 'Love Letters to the Self,' which focuses on identifying queer intimacy between the self, other-selves, and the absence of self. Currently, I specialize in bridging queer art with Latin American-inspired magical realism to evoke community, nostalgia, and feelings of togetherness.
Connect on Instagram @JoeyGonzales4th
ARTIST STATEMENT
My most polished medium is oil paint. My portfolio accentuates my protean ability to craft works with oil pastels, gouache, murals, and digital art. By not sticking to one particular medium, I have created a genuine impetus to push the boundaries of magical realism - a niche genre that adhesively joins the realms of my culture and sexuality. My mediums and blended art styles affirm many themes of my work: queerness, family, upbringing, memory, and neurodivergence.
