False Idol Worship
In this series, Mireles examines the False Idols that Americans worship in their culture. He has placed on oversize display artifacts of culture that have become unintentional objects of worship. An object achieves False Idol status when the significance of the object becomes detached from its original meaning and the object itself attains status separate from (and even greater than) the values that it represents. The American flag is a perfect example of an object that has itself become venerated while the ideals that it represents have been cast aside.
These works have been displayed in an immersive installation at the CM Curatorial Gallery in San Diego and illicitly on vacant walls and storefronts in New York City’s popular shopping districts.
