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WEB EXTRA | Photo Slideshow
Tijuana artist Jaime Ruiz Otis has found inspiration in Tijuana city's industrial trash piles. During art school, Ruiz worked at one of the border region's hundreds of factories, called maquiladoras to make ends meet. In his hands, old fax toner became paint. Defective respirator tubes became sculpture. Now, Ruiz is turning discarded TV monitors into a Zen garden. Ruiz has shown his art at museums and galleries around the world. KPBS Border Reporter Amy Isackson spoke with him at his studio in Tijuana.
Ruiz: When I was working in the maquiladora , I was in charge of the toxic residue and I started making more conscious about all the contamination. So, it was not like an all day working, so I start playing.
Amy: One day, did it just occur to you to just go to the trash and see what was there?
Ruiz: For me it’s like a sickness, like a rescuer to be a pepenador , the scavenger. And in the Maquiladoras , where I started doing this, they make latex globes, for medical, so I grab a bunch and take a dip, like dumpster-diving.
Amy: And what were some of your first and favorite finds?
Ruiz: For example, I found foils.
Amy: It’s gold foil.
Ruiz: They use for example to print a book like 7 Habits of Highly Effective People . And I started finding these and I started experimenting with these materials because I found tons of these materials. And it’s going to harm the globe, no?
Amy: So were standing here in front of a piece that is used as bar codes. Tell me about that one.
Ruiz: These are bar codes that I found on rolls of thousands, so I started thinking on why I don’t start painting and doing my artwork with this. And as you can see visually, I like the visual buzzing, like it moves.
Amy: And tell me some of the other projects that you have.
Ruiz: For example, this, this is like a big sphere of medical tubes – respirator tubes. They sell it to recyclers here in Tijuana because they’re defective. They are not used. So, I’m making these big spheres – like 2.5 yards – 3 yards – so it’s going to be like hanging in the space. It’s going to have a sound. I’m blowing into the medical tube. It’s called G-O. It’s like homage to my granddad. He died of emphysema. He used to smoke a lot, so this was his lifesaver. It can be a metaphor too about the earth - in crisis. Like needing tubes to respirate, needing something.
Amy: I mean it seems like there’s a larger message behind using these materials to make art. And I’m wondering if you can say what that message is.
Ruiz: There are a lot of things. I’m not working on the message specific. My work has like a personal things, expression of myself, ideas of consumerism, ecology, like a little of everything.
Amy: And tell me about this Zen garden project you’re working on now.
Ruiz: This is like a Japanese garden, like rocks and gravel. It’s made with debris from TVs. Tijuana is the world capital of televisions. So, the gravel is the plastic back of the monitors. The rocks are going to be the backs of the monitors too.
Amy: How big will this garden be? Where will it be? What will it look like when it’s done?
Ruiz: It’s going to be in Mexico City. It’s going to be a show about technology. The curators, I was talking to them, and they say they have a controversy because it’s not electronic, ya know? But, it’s like the carcass of the electronic thing. So, it’s going to be around 10m x 5m and platform to meditate, and that’s it.
