La Tecleña (Olympic Blvd. and Burlington Ave., Los Angeles, CA), 2022

A denim pant leg, a T-shirt emblazoned with “THIS IS F*CKED UP,” and a threadbare floral upholstery scrap are among the textiles making up the backing of this Caucho. Sourced from thrift shops and found on the street, these fabrics are offered as documentation of Salvadoran neighborhoods, along with the cast ficus tree on the face of the work. Painted embellishments—from the freeway off-ramp sign for Staples Center to a distorted LA Dodgers logo and the signage of famed Pico-Union restaurant La Tecleña—further record the cultural life and expression of the city’s Central American diaspora. In this way, Aparicio reconsiders and expands what constitutes an archive, beyond a musty room lined with neatly filed cabinets. Recently, Aparicio has begun to stuff his work with flossy kapok fiber derived from ceiba tree seed pods, transforming it into soft sculpture while introducing a throughline of care, comfort, and craft to his archival practice.