Bay Area artist Michael Arcega is admittedly obsessed with pirates and piracy. In his sculptural installations he manipulates what seems like an absurd interest in pop culture as a means to poignantly explore social and political issues. The centerpiece of his Cerca Series exhibition will be El Conquistadork, 2004, a thirteen-foot long fully-functional replica of a Spanish galleon made out of manila folders, manila rope, nylon, glue, and foam.  


Arcega is an equal opportunity satirist using his boat as a form of political satire while also mocking the very idea of identity-based art making. And while he has us laughing he manages to remind us that the age of colonialism is not dead.