Artist Statement
My art practice—which expands from printmaking into installation, as well as social and collaborative practices—works at the intersection of migration, queerness, and ecology. Botanical imagery, specifically plants that are considered invasive, fill the visual space of my prints and installations. Language used to describe invasive species speaks volumes about how we as a society form narratives about who belongs where. These plants and prints tell a migration story shared between humans and local ecology. I investigate these “invasive” species as a non-native and non-binary person, exploring the very question of belonging.
Creating moments of collision and contradiction is a theme in my work that reflects my experience of being between. Recently, I have been weaving and quilting paper, fabric, leather, and plants. From a practical standpoint, joining and merging these materials results in a stronger, more durable surface. But much of the effort involved is hidden in the final product. I am interested in the questions: what is gained or lost in processes like weaving and quilting – where half of the material is obscured? And, how does meaning become embedded in an object that is created by an invisible labor of care, devotion, and craft?
I apply my perspective as a person of Mestiza heritage to understanding my relationship to a creative practice. I am consciously adjusting my approach to address and eschew practices that involve extraction or needless production. I gravitate towards material and, as a trained printmaker, value dissemination and distribution. My recent work is made with the sun, with graphite rubbings of city surfaces, and with recycled fabric. Making in this way allows me to be generative, connect to the elements, and engage in conservation.