PORTFOLIO
This is a brief overview of selected projects. More work can be found on the Projects page, including works in progress.
Clicking on images will open an image gallery.
Café con Leche Project
Conversation-based work
Materials: Coffee, Milk, Glass Mixing Jars, Table, Chairs, Index Cards
Café con Leche is a project in which I invite community members and visitors to mix coffee with milk to match their skin color and to have a conversation or a quiet reflection on their experiences and memories.
Lotería de la vida
Conversation-based work
Materials: Images of undocumented immigration from Mexico to the US, Bottle Caps, "Lotería" Game Set, Table, Chairs
Lotería is the name of a game I grew up playing in Mexico. My family uses bottle caps as place markers. In Lotería de la vida, I have filled the bottle caps with images of undocumented border crossing from Mexico to the US. The images come from online image searches done in 2017 using the terms undocumented immigration, Mexico, US. After teaching people how to play the game, I invite them to look closely at the images in the bottle caps and to reflect on the images they hold in their hands.
Corridos
Written work, Performance, Installation
Materials: Cyanotype on cotton
When I was a child I thought the stars were other countries. I believed that when I got on a plane to visit my family in Mexico I was a space traveler. This memory inspired me to write a collection of short vignettes.
Written Work: “Corridos: Stars as Distant Countries” is the story of an imaginary patchwork skirt made of the stories and experiences of my bi-cultural heritage, personal memory, family history, and folk tales. It is both a celebration of my heritage and a journey of as I confront the effects of colonialism on my personal narrative.
Performance: The story is performed by three women, each rotating through lines of the piece. As one performer speaks to the audience, the other two performers fold, unfold, and hang laundry continuously throughout the piece.
Installation: The installation is made using cyanotype on cotton. The objects are impressions of objects collected while visiting my family in Mexico and household objects from my own home. Prints are displayed on laundry lines, which are how my Mexican grandmother dried wet laundry.
white passing
white passing [sic]
Personal reflections and installation
Materials: white handkerchiefs embroidered with text using white thread
When I was a child, I thought my skin was darker than it is. I thought people could see the evidence of my Mexican heritage more distinctly.
As an adult I came to realize that my complexion, the way I speak, my mannerisms, all pointed to my whiteness. When I realized I passed as white rather than showing my Latina side, I was sad, confused, angry, and frustrated.
This project is a reflection of thoughts made into phrases as I confront my whiteness.