Shadows in Labor

This work consists mostly of deep blues, purples, and saturated read. Featured is a large mesa, a house nestled at it's base. In the foreground, a wired fence and the corner of a table set with a meal. "My work is an 'artivist' project; they explore the intersections of migratory cultural heritage, undocumented immigrant status, and community relationships. I want to create a place within my works for the complexities of identity, focusing on how migration reshapes cultural belonging and redefines personal and collective narratives. Using material techniques sourced from the urban landscape and Chicano dreamscape- such as concrete pavement patterns, fiber, and Mexican textiles- I craft paintings that tell stories of the undocumented umbrella within Utah's skies. I often take a materialistic approach to serve as metaphors for resilience and adaptation, reflecting the lived experiences of undocumented communities and materializing the tension between displacement and cultural belonging of "ni de aqui ni de alla" (neither from here nor there). Ultimately, I seek to contribute to the discussion of sharing challenges concerning intersectional cultural belonging as an immigrant with a yearning for representation, connection, and discussion in the aftermath of migration" (From the Artist). This work was displayed as part of the 2024 MFA Interim show "borderlines and echoes".