In 2015, the only US states to legalize recreational marijuana were Colorado and Washington. "At that point some states were cool with it and some weren't. Even within the states some counties weren't cool with it. So I wondered, is this taboo? Can it be out in the open?" Garcia tells Creators. For him this clash represented a larger political trend, which he tries to bare in his work. "I didn't just feel that way about weed. In America a lot of Americans aren't on the same page with a different topics."
Since that time, he's created a large body of work examining the way weed is perceived in pop culture. At international street art festival POW! WOW! Hawaii, Garcia created a series of wall-mounted ashtrays replete with burning joints adhered to their insides. His latest is a model of Action Bronson's tattooed forearms dabbing, complete with a real piece made by Ouch Kick Studios. Bronson's arms join Garcia's repertoire of celebrity replicas that also includes Future counting cash and pouring lean out of a Sprite bottle.Garcia is a self-taught artist who came into the contemporary art world from the street art scene and painting motorcycles. He mostly smokes socially, but admits, "it helps a lot with my creative process." He went from smoking every day in high school to indulging in an edible at the occasional concert in a curve that seems to correlate with his success in the contemporary art scene. That growth is reflected in his plans for 4/20 this year. "I'm not sure yet," he tells Creators. "I was planning on going to LA. But I may have to just stay in the studio."
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