»Photography changed our world two centuries ago; the way we see it, and the way we think about it has never been the same since we started using it«, says artist Alejandro Cartagena (born 1977). »I want to be part of that history of how the medium transformed our understanding of social, political and environmental issues through images.« Over the past two decades, Cartagena has created a diverse body of work that reflects on contemporary life in Mexico and its transformation. His works—photographs, collages, and AI videos—illustrate cultural phenomena such as suburban sprawl, migration, economic inequalities, and the conflict-ridden border region between Mexico and the United States. The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art offers an overview of his work with selected pieces from around 20 series: Alejandro Cartagena: Ground Rules runs until April 19, 2026.
The exhibition begins with early works by the photographer that deal with everyday life on the border between Mexico and the USA. Cartagena's works on migration and the hopes associated with living in another country are influenced by his own biography. He came to Mexico from the Dominican Republic at the age of 13 and suffered from adjustment difficulties for a long time. Later series explore the complex urban structures and relationships between city centers and suburbs, as well as the peculiarities of daily commuting. In his latest video series, We Are Things (2025), Cartagena revisits his interest in archival images from a new perspective—with the help of an AI image generator trained on a personal archive.
