The Careyes Series comes from Ramirez’s time visiting the Pacific coast of Mexico. He observed how residents reused consumer objects like cracked plastic bottles and broken brooms. Ramirez writes that photographing these repurposed objects act to reflect on how “consumer culture permeates every aspect of our daily lives” and how Americans are not only “responsible for a significant portion of the world’s waste, but they are slow to any significant reforms in their consumption practice.” Through this series, Ramirez pushes the viewer to consider the American consumer culture and its environmental impact.

“The America that Ramirez sought to reflect was brown, was white, was somewhere in between; was queer; was obsessed with manifesting signs of social status; and was awash in its own detritus. His portrayal of America was neither cynical nor nihilistic; rather, it was doggedly real, palpable, and to the point. Ultimately, Ramirez had a knack for the creation of an irreverent people’s art, one that amplified the material object from inert form to a quirky expression of lived reality and, often, of optimism. Ramirez’ work even bears little relation to the many Latino photographers who have staged images for the camera in order to evoke family histories, cultural legacies, and political activism. Within the corpus of Latino photography, Ramirez, in fact, is a unique figure. He approached his medium idiosyncratically and was never bound by notions of what it should be or say." Ferrer, Elizabeth, "Every Picture Tells a Story, Chuck Ramirez: All This and Heaven Too," McNay Art Museum, 2017.

Inspired by his trips to the Pacific coast of Mexico, Careyes explores the United States relationship to environmentalism as compared to regions like Mexico that have a custom of repurposing items until they are no longer functional. The artist stated, “In the United States ‘consumer culture’ permeates every aspect of our daily lives. Material objects are disposed of as quickly as they are acquired, with aesthetic value often trumping function or necessity...The practice of a ceaseless, compulsive consumption is something that is so ingrained in American culture that most often, we forget it is even there.”

Curator and writer Elizabeth Ferrer states, “His portrayal of America was neither cynical nor nihilistic; rather, it was doggedly real, palpable, and to the point. Ultimately, Ramirez had a knack for the creation of an irreverent people’s art, one that amplified the material object from inert form to a quirky expression of lived reality and, often, of optimism. Ramirez’ work even bears little relation to the many Latino photographers who have staged images for the camera in order to evoke family histories, cultural legacies, and political activism. Within the corpus of Latino photography, Ramirez, in fact, is a unique figure. He approached his medium idiosyncratically and was never bound by notions of what it should be or say." - "Every Picture Tells a Story, Chuck Ramirez: All This and Heaven Too," McNay Art Museum, 2017.