MatthewLopz explained: La Niña, la Pinta y la Santa Maria

I'm both very sorry and very excited to be making this post, as i haven't posted in a bit, and this is one of my favorite artworks from this year, respectively.

Neo-colonialism (in my eyes)

This subject intrigued me back when I drew this, and even more so now as I've come to understand it better, the depths and ways it truly materializes itself.

Many people (especially from so-called developed countries) rarely talk about, or even hear about this, and if this topic somehow does come up in conversation, it is often seen through the lens of nations. For example, the US built a new military base overseas, or maybe it was the French or British. Sadly, while this could very well be considered neo-colonialism too, the "real" one—the one that thrives around the world—is the one done by corporations. Nations, such as the US, over time have started to function more like corporations as well, where lobbying a congressman or a president is like holding a share and expecting a good return.

Branding over the product, branding over everything, brand as a lifestyle

Over the years in recent history, corporations have learned that the idea of a product and what it stands for can be speculated to be worth much more than the cost of production. With this in mind, let's talk about ZARA, more specifically, the way ZARA brands itself in Colombia.

ZARA is a Spanish multinational. In Europe, where it originally comes from, it is branded as cheap clothing, of so-so quality, and affordable. When companies go abroad, they morph—the marketing adapts to its new place, creating ads exclusively for this new market. And despite being a multinational with offices an ocean away, it now has its own bubble in a whole new country and market.

ZARA in Colombia is branded as a middle-high-class brand. They oversell their clothes, put fancy lights in their stores, and do everything they can to make you feel like you're wealthier than you are by wearing what they make. Which, despite being a Spanish brand, is of course made in Bangladesh, China, or Vietnam. And we, as a society, like the stories of the old Spanish conquistadors who mocked and tricked our natives by trading magical reflective objects called mirrors in exchange for tons and tons of gold. Now, we consume a new cheap-to-make, overpriced product made in Asia and neatly packaged in Europe, where most of the wealth stays.

Symbolism

ZARA:

I wanted to connect the old colonial spaniards with something new, i think it's story here in Colombia and the fact they're a spaniard brand worked perfectly for the message. Also of course, the new vs old, the old medieval armor with a modern shopping bag. It puts the "Neo" in "colonialism".

Sword:

A sign of violence, but also pride. Meaning they believe in their own ideals and protect them by any means, violence is a way of maintaining those ideals.

God and his creation:

I've always like to, every once in a while, draw an eye in the skies of my artworks, i've copied this from mason symbology and their visual depictions of god and it just stuck with me, the all seeing crying eye contrasts with the 3 crosses that have been put at the hills next to him, i also wanted the sky to be burning red from the start, leading to (hopefully) spectulate that all of the hills behind the house are on fire.

Thanks like always for the support, and hope you found this useful, inspiring or at least interesting, i try to be as open as possible when i make art and specially writting these, so i truly hope you connect to this on a meaningful way. much love, till next time.