Neo Ta Memes

Neo Ta Memes
The artwork in 2026
ArtistChavis Mármol
Year2024 (2024)
MediumQuarry stone and a Tesla Model 3
LocationMexico City
Coordinates19°25′14.97″N 99°9′23.93″W / 19.4208250°N 99.1566472°W / 19.4208250; -99.1566472
Websitechavismarmol.com

Neo Ta Memes,[a] alternatively named Tesla Crushed by an Olmec Head,[1] is an artwork installed in Colonia Roma, Mexico City. It consists of a recreation of an Olmec colossal head crushing a blue Tesla Model 3.

It is a work by Chavis Mármol and forms part of a series of artworks featuring Olmec heads, including a backpack used for food delivery. Neo Ta Memes was installed in March 2024 on a lot donated by an adjacent hotel, which also sourced the Tesla. The Olmec head is made of quarry stone. According to the artist, it is a critique of Elon Musk.

Background

Neo Ta Memes is a series of artworks by the Mexican artist Chavis Mármol.[2] It includes a backpack shaped like an Olmec colossal head. The backpack was created to honor pre-Hispanic tamemes, people who worked as carriers due to the absence of pack animals.[3] The backpack was used for food deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico, replacing the insulated delivery backpacks commonly used by Uber Eats and Rappi couriers. It was part of the art installation Intersecciones. Seis aproximaciones a la física de lo posible ('Intersections: Six Approaches to the Physicality of the Possible').[4]

Ana Margarita Ongay, art director at Colima 71 Casa de Arte Hotel, saw the backpack and contacted Mármol. He told her about his idea of crushing a Tesla vehicle with an Olmec head, and she agreed to assist him with the project.[5] Mármol specifically required a Tesla because, according to him, he wanted to "troll" Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla, Inc., who in his view is "a sinister figure".[5][6]

Mármol was inspired by Still Life with Spirit and Xitle, a similar artwork by Jimmie Durham that featured a 1992 Chrysler Spirit crushed by a volcanic rock with a face painted on it.[6]

History and installation

Neo Ta Memes was installed on a lot along Calle Colima in Colonia Roma, Mexico City, in 2024, next to Colima 71 Casa de Arte Hotel, which collaborated with the artwork.[2] Neo Ta Memes consists of a blue Tesla Model 3 being crushed by a large replica of an Olmec colossal head.[7][8]

The entire project took two years to complete. The head is made of quarry stone and took six months to be carved by a team from across the country.[6] The Tesla, valued at around US$40,000, was donated by an unnamed source and provided by the hotel; its batteries were removed to prevent accidents.[5][8]

On 5 March 2024, the vehicle was placed in the lot, and cranes were used to lift the head, which weighs around 9 metric tons (8.9 long tons; 9.9 short tons), onto the rooftop, crushing it.[5] The installation was carried out without publicity to "maintain an aura of mystery and generate curiosity".[8]

About the artwork, Mármol said:[9]

The Olmec head imposes itself before the technological object, it bursts and crushes it and in the end it is glorified before this object [... which] is just a product of a capitalist system.

Notes

  1. ^ The artwork's name has multiple spellings used by the media. The spelling used here is the one used by the artist on his Instagram account.

References

  1. ^ Guzmán, Andrea (15 March 2024). "Mexican artist leaves a Tesla to crumble under the weight of an Olmec head". Chron.com. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Got 1 min? The 'mystery' of the Tesla crushed by an Olmec head". Mexico Daily News. 13 March 2024. Archived from the original on 16 March 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  3. ^ "Esta mochila en forma de Cabeza Olmeca ha dado la vuelta al internet" [This backpack shaped like an Olmec head has gone viral]. El Espectador (in Spanish). 22 March 2022. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  4. ^ "Repartidor utiliza mochila con forma de cabeza olmeca; se vuelve viral" [Delivery driver wears a backpack shaped like an Olmec head; it goes viral]. Milenio (in Spanish). Mexico City. 19 March 2026. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d "Mexican artist crushes Tesla under giant stone head". France 24. Mexico City. Agence France-Presse. 14 March 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  6. ^ a b c Pontone, Maya (21 March 2024). "Artist Crushes Tesla With Colossal Olmec Head Sculpture". Hyperallergic. Archived from the original on 27 May 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  7. ^ "Massive stone head crushes Tesla in Mexico". The Times of India. New Dehli. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  8. ^ a b c Oliva, Andrea (12 March 2024). "Captan misterioso Tesla aplastado por una cabeza Olmeca en CDMX; esto es lo que se sabe" [Mysterious Tesla crushed by an Olmec head spotted in Mexico City; here's what we know]. El Universal (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 7 February 2026. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  9. ^ Martínez, Mariana L. (12 March 2024). "¿Un Tesla aplastado por una cabeza Olmeca? La verdad del hallazgo en CDMX" [A Tesla crushed by an Olmec head? The truth behind the discovery in Mexico City]. Infobae (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2 October 2024. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
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