Apolo Gomez
On View
the window box at vladem contemporary
Apolo Gomez
American, b. 1986
Departures that Brought Us Here
2025
Mixed media
Apolo Gomez is a visual artist based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His interdisciplinary practice explores the complex layers of queerness, Latinx identity, desire, and mortality.
Departures that Brought Us Here merges Apolo’s research in LGBTQ+ archives with the kinetic movement of a split-flap display board. Traditionally used in airports and train stations to signal movement and transition, Gomez has transformed the display board into a storytelling platform containing messages, memories, and resistance from the LGBTQ+ community. Shifting letters combine with archival ephemera, echoing the fluctuating, fleeting nature of queer histories, highlighting the precarity of queer existence. Stories once erased are now made visible alongside stories that are constantly unfolding in real time. This uncovering of queer Chicanx history challenges historical erasure of marginalized communities, calling attention to what histories are seen, heard, and remembered.You can see more of Apolo’s work on his website:
June 27 @ 5:30 PM: Departures that Brought Us Here: A Window Box Project Artist Talk with Apolo Gomez
Join us for a talk by Apolo Gomez on this Window Box project Departures that Brought Us Here. Event details available at the following link: https://www.nmartmuseum.org/events/departures-that-brought-us-here-a-window-box-project-artist-talk-with-apolo-gomez/