Postcommodity is an interdisciplinary arts collective comprised of three artists–Raven Chacon, Cristóbal Martinez, and Kade L. Twist–who among themselves represent diverse cultural traditions and perspectives of three of the first nations cultures of the North American continent. Postcommodity’s practice is thus inherently international and it operates from areas of intersection to speak with a shared Indigenous voice to examine the institutions, perceptions, beliefs, and actions that define national identities and trans-border relationships.
The artists’ primary medium is discourse. Incorporating iconography, artistic forms and beliefs of from their respective cultural traditions, they create interactive, multi-media installations that engage audiences in questions of environmental, economic, and political processes, not necessarily to reach a decisive conclusion but rather to generate productive discourse among a community of active participants. Through their artwork, Postcommodity seeks to connect Indigenous narratives of cultural self-determination with the broader public sphere.
From the European elections to debates surrounding the United States' policies on immigration, their work is particularly resonant, offering the opportunity to consider the multiple national perspectives rooted in the geopolitical territory of the United States itself. Postcommodity’s residency productively expands the perspectives from which the Museum represents contemporary art in an international context.
Their historic land art installation Repellent Fence was installed at the U.S./Mexico border near Douglas, AZ and is the subject of an award-winning documentary Through the Repellent Fence: A Land Art Film, which premiered a The Museum of Modern Art, New York earlier this year. In addition to the Elson Residency, Postcommodity are the recipients of numerous grants and awards for their multimedia practice.
Postcommodity’s work is featured in the 2017 Whitney Biennial and will be included in this summer’s Documenta exhibition in Athens, Greece, adding to their list of national and international exhibitions, including: Contour the 5th Biennial of the Moving Image in Mechelen, Belgium; Nuit Blanche, Toronto, CA; 18th Biennale of Sydney in Sydney, Australia; Adelaide International in Adelaide, Australia; Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art in Scottsdale, AZ.