A skin, hair, or makeup routine is more than just a skin, hair, or makeup routine. We took a deep dive into the beauty habits of artists and estheticians across Los Angeles to learn more about themselves and their relationships with the world around them. Beauty rituals are as much personal as they are portals to a better self and a better future. For Sebastian Hernandez, creative director, performance artist, conceptual artist, mover, and DJ behind the party You Los Angeles, beauty doesn’t come without ugliness. For Hernandez, this dichotomy is best demonstrated in beds that incorporate earthly elements. Beauty, as they say, is “subjective, but it is also not true.” It is a myth, a fantasy. ” Hernandez will exhibit his new performance piece “Echo” at the Performance Art Museum on October 15th.
In a way, it was really difficult to participate in the filming. Because I thought, “Is this what I believe?” Do I even consider myself performing a beauty ritual? ”I was born and raised in Los Angeles. So I feel like the Los Angeles lifestyle that I’ve been drawn to already has a lot of subconscious beauty rituals embedded in it, like working out and finding something to wear every other weekend. . It may also be a cultural thing. I’m Mexican, and my parents have always loved wearing clothes.
I had to sit back and think, “Okay, what are you doing?” As I get older, one thing I’m starting to ease myself into is getting more sleep and focusing on resting and napping. I found this site very interesting about what I wanted to talk about: bed and rest, the image of my body resting, and how it has multiple simple interpretations. I brought in an earthy element, the clay that I used, and I brought in some flowers as well. I thought about how to convey this message. I asked it back. “What is actually beautiful?” And do I believe it? Did humans use the word beautiful from nature to cast themselves? Perhaps nature was the original beauty of the world.
“What is beautiful in the first place? And do I believe in it? Did humans use the word “beautiful” from nature to cast themselves? Maybe nature is the true beauty of the world? It might have been.
— Sebastian Hernandez
I started thinking about such beauty and how nature can be gentle, but in its natural state it can also be violent. This concept of ugliness and beauty. I took it a little further. As much as I want to rest, and because it’s a restorative and generative ritual that makes me look good, my bed can also be a place for a lot of contemplation about the world and things. It’s my safe place. It’s what’s happening outside. I’m often in bed, but sometimes I laugh on Twitter (now known as X). It’s crazy. You’re scrolling through tweets and laughing, and then the next tweet is one of people self-immolating in response to the massacre of Palestinians and all those on the border. It never ends. For me, the bed has the concept of beauty and ugliness, light and darkness. When I was thinking about this image, I was thinking about Palestine and the interconnected web of imperialism with oppression and genocide. It also depicts the transnational struggles of indigenous peoples around the world, including Mexico and Oaxaca, and the struggles of immigrants in general to find peace and safety anywhere in the world.
When I looked back on my life and upbringing, I had an unnatural association with beauty because I didn’t see myself growing up in the media. The beauty aspect wasn’t easy. I grew up in an indigenous Mexican circle called Xipetotec, led by Lázaro Arviz. At first I wasn’t excited. My parents forced me and my sister to join the group. In a sense, I had internalized self-hatred and cultural hatred. I was born into the Mormon church, so in addition to the self-hatred from the repression of my sexuality, there was colonialism going on in my consciousness. All of these things were a big part of being a first-generation Mexican American. When I was in middle school, I was bullied not only because of my sexuality and femininity, but also because of the color of my skin. Returning to Xipetotech, I feel this is an important part of my core, my identity, and my understanding of my connection to Indigenous culture. Also, the protection of my people and my ancestors in today’s society, where we exist as indigenous peoples, our sovereignty, and how we share the land with other self-displaced peoples.
Beauty is subjective, but not truth. It is mythical and fantastic. When it comes to the society and times we live in, I feel that there is nothing beautiful in the world today. There was never peace, there was always colonization, there was always fighting and strife and violence. I have the privilege of sitting and thinking and doing what I do best as an artist and offering something that makes people think about the world differently. Perhaps beauty is in the future and we can’t wait for it to actually be here.
Creative direction Sebastian Hernandez
Hair & Makeup Tanya “Nena” Melendez
Prop Styling Cynthia Gonzalez
production mia studio
