Stencil set showing a person crouched down, wearing a protective suit with respirator, and holding a large syringe. Stencils installed as a set of six: two rectangles high, three layers deep. Each stencil layer was aerosol painted with a different colour - light taupe, dark taupe, and black.

• Narrative

  Two artists from the collective "Lapiztola", Rosario Martinez and Roberto Vega, traveled to MOA in May 2018 to install 6 sets of stencils (3289/99-104) in the exhibition "Arts of Resistance: Politics and the Past in Latin America". The exhibition label for "La defensa del maiz" read: "This graffiti installation by Lapiztola, Oaxaca, Mexico, links the struggle against transgenic maize with Indigenous empowerment. The artists have used pre-Hispanic maize symbols to associate Indigenous communities with historical Mesoamerican civilizations. Maize agriculture is at the root of Mesoamerica's earliest civilizations. Cultivation of maize that has been altered through genetic engineering (transgenic maize) is now being authorized by the Mexican government. This maize is sold cheaply across the country, affecting the Indigenous and locally grown maize market. Transgenic maize is less nutritious, and the profits it generates are not shared with Mexico's poorest agricultural communities."

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• Type of Item stencil
• Culture Mexican
• Measurements height 60.0 cm, width 90.0 cm (part a)

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• Creator Lapiztola
• Field Collector Laura Osorio
• Previous Owner Laura Osorio
• Received from Laura Osorio, Museum of Anthropology Exhibitions Budget, Michael O'Brian Family Foundation

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• Made in Oaxaca

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• Creation Date during 2018
• Collection Date between 2017 and 2018
• Ownership Date before April 11, 2018
• Acquisition Date on April 11, 2018

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• Item Classes works on paper
• Condition fair
• Accession Number 3289/0103 a-f