Merida’s burgeoning design scene is a world to explore. The talent in fashion, decor, interior, and exterior design is inspiring. The trend in Mexico in general is deeply rooted in the ancestral pre-Hispanic roots and contemporary innovative ways to interact with our surroundings. Mexico has become a real player on an international level, many eyes are on what’s happening here and in Yucatan, there is much to see as well.
One of our favorite up-and-coming artists and designers is Joshua Arfaxad, who, at just 25 years old, has made quite a splash on the scene. He is originally from Oxkutzcab, Yucatan, but now resides in the state’s capital. Before I met Josh, I was drawn to his simplistic yet provocative designs of simple hand-drawn or sown faces or hands-on oversized dusters, blouses, or hoodies. He works natural fibers and with recycled clothing, taking high-quality garments and transforming or painting on them. I am pulled towards his work, keeping an eye on his newest collections. He’s a painter, designer, craftsman and he’s an artist to follow.
In Josh’s words:
“The Hand” goes beyond being just a clothing brand; it defines itself as an experimental fashion studio. The brand represents the delight in the creative process, experimentation, ideas, stories, and people. It immerses itself in the joy of creating without being experts, always remaining learners, curious, and driven by creative instincts.
The focus is on the details, exploring both everything and nothing. More than clothing, “The Hand” conceives its creations as wearable pieces of art. It offers a timeless and contemporary proposal of conceptual pieces rooted in art, where everything is valid, and there are no limits to experimenting with how people dress and inhabit each garment.
A key focus for the brand is sustainability and ethical processes at every stage of creation. “The Hand” pays attention to all areas of production, from the making of garments and their materials to the journey they take until they reach the customer’s hands.
The brand takes pride in communicating the future of fashion, discovering exclusivity in individually created pieces, and dedicating attention to each one, rather than focusing on mass production. It recognizes the value of owning something genuinely unique.
A fundamental part of the brand’s philosophy is creating using what is within reach: the everyday, the accessible, transforming materials and garments into new forms and designs. “The Hand” aims to convey the power of wearing something created with artistic, poetic, ethical, and responsible values. It encourages embracing the ephemeral, consuming locally and responsibly, loving, living, and feeling. Today, the brand is here to generate change, believe, embrace, and tell stories.
History
“The Hand” was born in February 2020, with an initial collection of approximately 17 recycled second-hand pieces, artistically altered by its multidisciplinary founder, Joshua Arfaxad. The brand began as a response to a need for a product/business, yet it maintained the artist’s values and ideals. Since its inception, it has been a journey of learning, trial, and much experimentation.
The name “The Hand” stems from the hand itself, the hand that sculpts, shakes, and embraces. It represents a contemporary, timeless fashion proposal with conceptual garments rooted in art, where there are no boundaries for experimenting with how we dress and create each piece.
The brand’s main focuses are sustainability and ethical practices throughout the creation of each product. It maintains attention to all aspects of production and creation, from the crafting of garments and materials to the journey they take until they reach the customer’s hands.
“The Hand” prefers to identify as an experimental fashion studio rather than a conventional clothing brand. Most of its garments are unique, and all its productions consist of limited pieces created over indefinite periods. It prioritizes intentional processes and the necessary time for each piece, disregarding conventional demand factors. The brand’s perspective revolves around the idea of creating works of art rather than clothing, crafting intentional spaces for bodies to inhabit.
Part of the brand’s philosophy is creating with what is within reach: the everyday, the accessible, transforming materials and garments into new forms and designs. It encourages “not following the rules,” enjoying the creative process, experimenting with textures, ideas, and stories, and creating without being an expert. The focus is always on details, exploring everything and nothing, remaining lifelong learners, always curious, and following creative instincts.
The brand is genuinely interested in provoking change in the fashion industry by educating and exploring new alternatives. It believes in the power of wearing something made just for you, through an artistic, poetic, ethical, and responsible lens. It promotes embracing the ephemeral, consuming locally and responsibly, loving, living, and feeling. “The Hand” exists to create change, believe, embrace, and tell stories.
Biography
Joshua Arfaxad (1998), a visual artist from Oxkutzcab, Yucatán, currently based in Mérida since 2017, graduated with a degree in visual arts from the Autonomous University of Yucatán. He has been a creative force since age 9, but it wasn’t until he gained enough confidence and mastery of the classical foundations of drawing and painting that he decided to exhibit his work for the first time in 2019. His work predominantly features abstraction, which continues in his current work. Throughout his career, he has explored various disciplines such as photography, collage, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking, performance, and textiles.
Arfaxad considers his work highly personal, drawing inspiration from translating his daily experiences into abstract or figurative language—the every day, the spontaneous, people, situations he doesn’t understand, emotions, and their origins. He lives each moment intensely,
always finding something new that stirs his feelings and drives his creations. “I only paint what makes me feel, and I only sign when the feeling gives me the certainty that it is finished,” he says. This reflects his method of communicating life experiences through art, his love for life, and his infinite curiosity in the search for creative imagination.
Arfaxad’s work has a subtle thread running through his artistic journey. He creates series, each with its own theme, expressing what he experienced during specific periods. He refuses to be limited by any aesthetic or concept, believing in the metamorphosis of being, in which nothing can limit or define a person, and always following what feels right.
In recent years, his artwork has been showcased in various collective and solo exhibitions, including: Centro Cultural Olimpo (2018), Teatro Peón Contreras Alternate Gallery (2018), CCU UADY (2018), Fundación de Artistas (2019), ART MID Art Fair (2019), RSDNT ART Kankabal with NOOX (2019), Design Week (2020), MAP 2021, Onagra (2021), Casa Bona (2022), Incidencias (2022), La Noche Blanca, and multiple exhibitions at LAGALÁ 56:426 between 2019-2022, Bomboti Ciudad de México 2024, and Salón Gallos 2024. His work is part of private collections in Yucatán, Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, Germany, Australia, Canada, and beyond.
