Presented by aCurator
Curated by Julie Grahame
Featuring Hector Rene Membreno-Canales
In Hegemony or Survival, Hector Rene Membreno-Canales blends classical still life and portraits with military objects and veterans. The style developed from his interest in Renaissance and Dutch paintings, complemented by collaboration with fellow students at the School of Visual Arts – veterans studying through the GI Bill, whose personal objects feature in the scenes in alarming juxtapositions of the traditional with the contemporary.
The title is drawn from Noam Chomsky’s book “Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance.”
Hector Rene Membreno-Canales was born in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. After serving in Iraq, Hector used the G.I. Bill to move to New York City and study photography at the School of Visual Arts (SVA). While at SVA Hector interned at the Museum of Modern Art, Magnum Foundation, Hank Willis Thomas Studio and Stephen Mallon Films. He was later invited to study Public Affairs and Journalism at the Pentagon’s Department of Defense Information School, Fort Meade, Maryland.
Hector’s photographs have been featured in The New York Times, L’Oeil de la Photographie, and The Ottowa Citizen. His work explores National Identity, Patriotism, and the Military Industrial Complex.
