Sheltered Thoughts, Missing Piece
2023 Collage 10" x 8" Growing up I used to listen to the stories of my friends about going to their home country. They always knew where they came from and where they took a stance in their heritage roots. With me, that was not the case. I on the other hand have never traveled outside of the country and have been sheltered from visiting where my roots originated. Now as an 18 year old, I have the desire and curiosity to see the world, to see where I come from. All of these years without getting to know my heritage, a piece of me was missing. To fulfill this blank identity, I pieced together a collage of blank faces stitched with shredded passports to convey a deep pit of desolation, knowing I will never see the world anytime soon. The film mediums shown are my baby pictures, which is personally meaningful to me, it shows my innocence to the world. Living with sheltered thoughts about the world truly breaks a missing piece of me. |
Blank Standards
2023 Acrylic 16" x 12" There are standards women are “supposed” to hold; don’t speak unless you’re asked to, fix your hair a certain way, put on more makeup, put on less makeup. It’s the never-ending cycle of society telling women what to do to appease the liking of men. This piece pertains to masked emotions women go through, pushing them away from their identity. The blank look the face portrays is a numb emotionless feeling of degradation. I also purposefully made the skin color to give off a melancholic look. The harsh standards of society leave her confused, she doesn’t know who to be, there is no room for her to be herself. Everything is one blank standard. |
Living in the Depths of Society
2023 Acrylic 16" x 12" This artwork explores the concept of identity and the challenges of self-discovery within a society. It highlights the universal struggle of existing in the present moment without truly knowing oneself. It is both fascinating and nerve-wracking to observe how others' identities can captivate and influence us, often causing us to overlook our own unique qualities and how we present ourselves to the world. The main objective of this piece is to depict a range of individual faces, each distinct and diverse. The disorientation of these faces symbolizes the imperfections that exist within every person, emphasizing that no one is flawless. In today's society, there is an obsession with perfection, but it is crucial to recognize that we are all simply navigating the complexities of societal pressures. Thus, it becomes inconsequential whether one is perfect or not, as we are all merely participants in the fabric of society. |
Adventure in Brazil
Spring 2023 Collage 16" x 19" It all started in the summer of 2022. My fondness for traveling had started to expand, and I wanted to experience parts of the world I have never seen. Specifically, Brazil has been on my mind since then. As I was reminiscing about Brazil and what it had to offer with its culture, the animals it inhabits, the music, the buildings, and over all the beautiful scenery it has. I started to romanticize the idea of me being in Brazil and having adventures, enjoying the Brazilian air. Brazil to me, is a never-ending adventure. |
The Male Gaze
Winter 2023 Mixed Media 20" x 16" This piece is intended to represent the movie; the Virgin Suicides following the male gaze. The movie is mainly perceived by the neighbor who also is the narrator. Throughout the movie, the neighbor and his friends try to figure out the Lisbon sisters and come up with theories on how they got to their death. After the first Lisbon sister dies, Cecilia. The narrator and his friends start to become infatuated with the four standing sisters. What I realized with this movie, is that I never got to see things from the Lisbon sister’s perspective. No one will ever know how the Lisbon sisters felt before tragedy struck at the time of their death. To express this vision, I painted the eyes of the boys who perceived the Lisbon sisters to count it as the male gaze. In return, I added a hand to represent the last Lisbon sister to go, Lux, cutting off the male gaze. Even though the movie ended in death, I believe there is an alternate ending where the Lisbon sisters were able overcome the male gaze. |
|
The Product of Working Hands
2022 Photography When I think about all of the sacrifices my mom has made for me, I never really thanked her in those moments that she has. My mom raised three children by herself. She had dreams as a teenager, but were soon crushed when her mom died, and in that time, the only thing that would benefit her and my grandma, would be for her to start working, so she did, at age 16, with no help form anyone. Now, my mom is turning 60 next year. It has been 45 years of her working hard. Throughout those years of raising my brother, sister, and I, my mom had to face many challenges with us. Form health to legal problems, my mom never gave up on me or my siblings. I think to myself, how lucky can someone get to deserve a loving and caring mother. Sometimes I think I don’t deserve her at times, but I say to myself, just keep up the work, and make her sacrifices worth it, because the product of her working hands, deserve the whole world. |
Resonance Imagination
2022 Paper Cutout & Acrylic Paint 14" x 19" This project is about how I imagine the song Resonance by HOME. When I first listened to the song, all I could feel is a sense of nostalgia, and when I envisioned it, I pictured a wave of vibrancy, not in a literal aspect of colors, but in happiness and calmness, which is why I painted the sky in neutral colors, and created brushstrokes to match that infatuation. Listening to the song feels like a cloud, hence the figure in the clouds, on the bottom left of the artwork. This relates to me as an overall person because I always like to include some sort of reminiscence in my artwork, and how I differently vision it through my work. So no matter the situation, listening to this tune will always fill me with deep emotion. |
Family Cacti
2022 Acrylic Paint 12" x 12" This piece of artwork is about my family and me. The meaning behind the cacti is to show that they are able to survive in a harsh environment, and that is what I believe that my family and I have done in the past years when the time was tough. I used different shades of green to represent every individual in my family. My brother is the most mature, so naturally, he takes on the role of being a father figure to my sister and me. The shade of dark green shows that he is the strong one and backbone of the family. My mom is the sage green and also the smallest one because, well for one reason, she is short. But I used a light color sage to show how she is the calm one in the family and is very nurturing. Next to her is me. For my color, I used a strong grass green color to show how I’ve had to mature throughout my years of being young. Next to me is a peculiar-looking cactus that represents my sister. She is the life of the party, hence why I used a lighter green as her color to show that she can be crazy at times. The colors on the cacti all come together as one and the meaning behind them shows how my family and I were able to survive a harsh environment in the past. |
In My Head
2022 Paper Cutouts 19" x 13" My artwork is about what goes on in my head. There are many things in this piece that resonate with me as a person, and some that resonate from my past, but I still think about till this day. But the thing that resonates with me the most are the butterflies. I picture a butterfly on a journey with no destination, and that is me in the moment. I always thought I knew who I was, but turns out I’m just along for the journey. In the moments of thinking, I’m always asking myself if I should just live in the moment and see where things take me, or should I think about the future. An important part about my artwork are the green and blue cutouts that represent calm moments in my life. For example, the green plant and the blue flower represent a moment in my life where I was always surrounded by plants, it is a memory that will always stick with me. The vintage car and telephone represent my old soul. These are all little bits and pieces that will forever consume my thoughts. So, in the end, no one knows who they really are until they really take the time to evaluate themselves. Some may have a destination, and some are here for the moment. |
The Journey
2021 Acrylic 12" x 12" Everyone wants peace in their life. Many people strive to find ways to get it. Whether it is meditating, or taking a long walk on the beach, people still have consuming thoughts barricading their journey of finding tranquility. In this painting, I envision my adolescent self taking a walk through the mountains, while trying to control my thoughts about the future, I try to clear my head with the fumes of nature. I focused on using different shades of green, to express the color as a zen and peaceful feeling. As I followed through my walk in the mountains, I viewed them to look far apart, to convey my journey as a long path. Finding peace takes time, no matter how long the journey is, there is always a path to it. |