VOCHO VW Beetle Sedan

In both her life-size and miniature soft vinyl sculptures, Margarita Cabrera recreates consumer products to highlight the labor force behind them. The objects in her vinyl series range from blenders and coffeemakers to Hummers and Volkswagen Bugs. Each of these works has exposed threads, mixing craft and manufactured parts to allude to the hard, handmade labor employed in Mexican factories, or maquiladoras, and the communities that work in them. Vocho refers to the ubiquitous Volkswagen Beetle, which has a cult-like following in Mexico due to its affordable price and longevity.  

The effects of manufacturing for women along the U.S./Mexico border is a foundational theme in Cabrera’s art, as she collaborates with Mexican garment craftswomen to produce her vinyl sculptures. As a result of the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. companies have capitalized on tariff-free mass production in Mexico and the availability of cheap labor there. Factory roles are primarily taken by women, who experience unsafe conditions and make poverty wages. Cabrera’s work honors the worker’s hand, prompting recognition of communities of skilled women laborers as crucial to the fabric of society.