BFA WORK

As a Latinx, Indigenous, and Black artist, my practice focuses on race, identity, and
visibility. I explore these themes by creating characters that fight their self-concept in addition to fighting external forces of oppression. Each work touches on topics related to how people of color are perceived in the United States. My work challenges the viewer with shocking imagery that is based on personal experience and the experiences of others. I was adopted from Bogota, Colombia when I was 2 months old and raised in Cochrane, Wisconsin. I have lived exclusively in white communities; always surrounded by white culture and white privilege. The schools
I attended did not teach my history, instead, they presented a
white-centric version of history. Racism is a virus that keeps evolving to fit the needs of the current times in order to thrive. I am compelled to investigate and respond to these evolutions and changes by using photography as a way to control narratives that are related to my lived experiences. My current series is called Birth Of A Nation as a direct response to the 1915 movie Birth Of A Nation by D.W. Griffith. I am most interested in the impact the movie, specifically its
exaggerated and stereotyped characters had on further shaping public perception surrounding issues of morality and race. The tension between the desire to be seen and the desire to remain hidden is a major factor in my images. As a woman of color, I feel obligated to push the conversations about visibility and taking up space but also see my own social conditioning and trained preference toward being hidden. Creating a fantasy can provide clarity to reality and performing behind a mask can provide a false sense of freedom. My trash bag aesthetic stems from our historic perception of what and who we find valuable and what we find worthless. The characters I create are a representation of my longing for acknowledgment and sometimes are created to match a person I have met.I explore questions I have about being BIPOC with characters and photographs with the goal of presenting visuals that start conversations about race and identity. Giving the viewer my perspective on being a BIPOC artist in the Midwest opens up questions about freedom and equality in the United States.