In early 2024, artist Edgar Fabián Frías, a descendant of the Wixárika people, was one of 135 contemporary artists selected to have their art preserved for millions of years. Their work was etched on nickel plates using cutting-edge nanotechnology and placed on the moon's surface by the Odysseus Lander spacecraft as part of the Arch Lunar Art Archive.

Inspired by this monumental achievement and the Wixárika origin story - where Takutsi Nakawé, known as Our Great Grandmother Growth, asked Watakame to create a canoe from a fig tree to save life on earth from a great flood, Frías created Vessel (2024). This artwork explores the role of vessels, such as spaceships and canoes, in symbolizing preservation, resilience, ancestral pacts, and intergalactic communication through the lens of Indigenous Futurism.

Humans have a deep desire to preserve culture for future generations. Vessel invites viewers to reflect on UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) as modern symbols that speak to our collective hope for survival and the power of art and storytelling to transcend time and space. Situated at the site of the Indigenous village of Yaangna in Gloria Molina Grand Park, this piece honors the diverse communities of Los Angeles, connecting past and present.

Edgar Fabián Frías was commissioned by the LA County Department of Arts and Culture to create a temporary artwork as a member of the Public Artists in Development (PAiD) program's Artist Council. The installation was on display at Gloria Molina Grand Park on September 4 - 29, 2024.

Edgar Fabián Frías (b. 1983, Los Angeles, CA) is a multidisciplinary artist, psychotherapist, educator, curator, and brujx based in Los Angeles. With a passion for breaking boundaries and creating new forms of knowledge, Frías blends diverse artistic disciplines to produce thought-provoking and immersive works of art that transcend conventional categories. Their oeuvre encompasses installation, photography, video art, sound, sculpture, printed textiles, GIFs, performance, social practice, and community organizing, reflecting their commitment to experimentation and innovation.

Frías' work explores themes of resistance, resiliency, and radical imagination in the face of colonization, environmental racism, and other contemporary issues. Drawing on Indigenous Futurism, spirituality, play, pedagogy, animism, witchcraft, and queer aesthetics, Frías offers a unique perspective on the complexities of modern society. Through their art, they bridge the gap between the traditional and the contemporary and create spaces for contemplation and transformation. As a nonbinary, Wixárika, and Latinx artist whose family hails from Mexico, Frías brings a rich and diverse background to their practices.

They hold dual BA degrees in Psychology and Studio Art from UC, Riverside, and an MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling with a focus on Interpersonal Neurobiology and Somatic Psychotherapy from Portland State University. In 2022, they completed an MFA in Art Practice at UC Berkeley. Frías' work has been exhibited at the Vincent Price Art Museum, Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco, Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Oregon Contemporary, MOCA Jacksonville, Project Space Festival Juárez, and ArtBo. Their art, tarot, and multidisciplinary practices have also been featured in numerous publications, including Cosmopolitan, Taschen, ELLE UK, Bustle, Nylon, Los Angeles Times, Slate, CVLT Nation, Terremoto, and Hyperallergic, among others.