Artist Statement

Identity is defined by the qualities, values, and beliefs that make up each individual, it is a sense of self. As adolescents we are either given an identity or adopt that of our parents. We do not question our existence or our greater purpose, we are simply beings in a world we know little about. However, as we grow, our curiosity about ourselves and our origins ignites, for many of us it becomes a flame that hungers for purpose and recognition. We begin to seek answers and thirst for a history to call our own, to better define who we are and where we come from. 

Unfortunately, as many of us have come to learn, exposure to this history is more often than not excluded or ignored throughout our time in academia. Furthermore, we’ve seen our culture dissected, portrayed in mainstream media as a commodity, appropriating our Mother Land and her history. As a member of the Mestizo offspring, I am one of many who have challenged this reality and utilized the flame within myself to perpetuate accurate and transparent narratives of my community’s history and state of reality.

Moreover, my work explores the consciousness of a people living on the border of these two realities, in a state of “Nepantla.” I have equipped myself with the knowledge necessary to stand against the long history of oppression, marginalization and xenophobia plaguing our daily lives. Together we can create a future that invites diversity, that appreciates uniqueness and celebrates our multi-faceted histories.