Spencer, Tadeo (Week 5)

Hammerhead Shark on Padre Island, drawn by Carmen Lomas Garza in 1987 (Figure 4), juxtaposes a tranquil beach landscape with the bloody image of a dead hammerhead shark. In the painting, we see families spending a day at the beach, right near the shore. The water is crystal clear, and the sand dunes in the distance are empty save for plant growths. If a viewer looks at the image from one of its edges, nothing strange seems to be happening. People play in the water, walk the boardwalk, and sunbathe. The only edge without individuals enjoying their day is the top edge, which depicts the sand dunes. 

Garza’s paintings frequently depict members of a community interacting and engaging in leisurely activities. While this piece also showcases the leisurely activities of various families spending a day at the beach, one realizes it includes something more sinister as they move their gaze toward the center of the painting. Here, we see a fisherman who caught a hammerhead shark large enough to swallow a toddler whole. Several people have gathered around the shark and stare or point at it. The shark’s mouth lies open with blood draining from it and leaving a trail toward the ocean. The trail of blood, however, stops at the shore. The people playing in the water seem to look toward the shark, but if the viewer has not yet noticed the shark itself, they would not suspect that they are concerned because they seem to be playing.

 

In a way, the depiction of the shark seems to be from a completely different painting than the details at its edges. This juxtaposition shocks the viewer even if they notice the shark before the other elements. Clearly, Garza intended to remind her audience that danger can invade any place at any time, or perhaps that there are no safe spaces. As a Chicanx, Garza may have intended this as a metaphor for the constant discrimination that minorities face. Such discrimination cannot be escaped, after all. It invades all spaces – the grocery store, the school, the beach – just like this shark that washed up ashore.