Mexican artist Libertad Alcántara believes that simply existing is a political act. “We are all a result of our material conditions, including the place you were born,” Alcántara said during a recent phone interview. “For me, any expression of ourselves is an extension of those things, and at this point, not believing that politics affects your life is just being in denial.” Alcántara said her approach to art is inspired by “life itself,” often juxtaposing the observations of our everyday realities with politics. An example is her painting “Offsides/Fuera de Cancha,” displayed in her recent exhibit, “Ahí viene el Coco” (“Here Comes the Boogeyman”), at the Don't Look Projects Gallery in Los Angeles, running through Dec. 27. The painting depicts United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem on a massive screen at the center of a soccer stadium, with the caption, “If you come into our country and break our laws, we will hunt you down.” The inspiration for the concept came after watching a soccer match on TV with her family in Mexico, where an advertisement by Homeland Security came on during halftime. It was an ad very similar to those running on Spanish-language networks such as Univision and Telemundo. This ad, in her home country, discouraged Mexican residents from migrating and prompted Mexico to propose a law prohibiting “foreign propaganda in local media.”