16mm to 4K video | 6'20 | BW | 2023
In March the streets of Mexico City are covered in purple Jacaranda flowers. We live in Obrera—meaning “Worker” in Spanish. It is a working class neighbourhood. Walking home one night, I follow the trail of purple flowers on the ground until I come face to face with a large bronze seamstress, locked behind the fence of an apartment building courtyard.
At home, I look up the address: Manuel José Othón, corner of San Antonio Abad. I find a photo of the monument and the following words: "Topeka, large garment factory, employed hundreds of women." And then: "Bronze statue at site of collapsed factory."
