[3] Ocampo frequently revisits and makes reference to the art historical canon of political allegorists including Leon Golub, Géricault, Goya, Daumier with allusions to contemporary figures including political satirist R. Crumb Modernist painter Philip Guston.

One of his pieces featuring several swastikas was censored at the Dokumenta art show in Kassel, Germany.

In 2005, his work was the subject of a large-scale survey at Casa Asia in Barcelona, and Lieu d’Art Contemporain, Sigean, France.

It is important to note that Manuel Ocampo used to make art that criticized western colonialism through allegory and metaphor.

[3] Ocampo's 1992 painting "Why I Hate Europeans" was used as the cover art to the music album "Mythmaker" by Skinny Puppy.