Extension Experience 70:
MUNDIAL ’86
June 11 to June 18, 2026
Mundial ’86 is brought to you by Legacy West Media and artist John Vink, in partnership with ESMoA and Compton Art and History Museum
at Tratta-Bono Contemporary, 2447 Main Street, Santa Monica, CA 90405
Four decades ago, a tournament rewrote football history. Now, its untold margins come to light.
In the summer of 1986, Magnum photographer John Vink traveled to Mexico with a Leica M4, rolls of Kodak Tri-X, and a single 35mm lens. His assignment was the World Cup. His instinct was the crowd. What emerged was not the goals, not the glory, but the living, breathing world that surrounded them: the faces in the stands, the rituals before kickoff, the quiet moments between spectacle.
“I am more interested in what is happening on the sidelines than in what is happening on the pitch.” — John Vink
Mundial ’86 brings together a curated selection of John Vink’s vintage photographs from that tournament. Images that traveled to Paris by film roll and stranger’s luggage, developed overnight, published the next morning. They carry the grain and warmth of analog witness. They are documents of a world before instant transmission, when photography demanded patience, proximity, and trust.
The exhibition marks the 40th anniversary of the 1986 FIFA World Cup, celebrating not only Argentina’s legendary triumph, but the full cultural event that Mexico hosted and that Vink quietly, brilliantly preserved from the edges of the frame.
As the world’s greatest sporting tournament returns to North America in 2026, with Los Angeles among its host cities, Mundial ’86 arrives as both a tribute and a prelude. A reminder that before the spectacle reaches us, there is always a deeper story waiting on the sidelines.
Artists: John Vink, Abdulaziz Al Hadhrami, Motim Alosaimi.
Exhibition Producer & Co-Curator: Legacy West Media
Exhibition Partner: ESMoA & Compton Art and History Museum
Venue: Tratta-Bono Contemporary 2447 Main Street Santa Monica, CA 90405
Grand Opening & Artist Talk: June 11, 2026 from 6pm until 9pm (Artist Talk 7:30pm)
Community Day: June 13th, 2026 from 12pm until 8pm
Image credit: John Vink – 1986 Copa Mundial – Maradona
