artist statement
The feeling of being an outsider in the country I was born in is what fuels my frustration as well as my curiosity; this is my path and my struggle. Since a very young age I became aware of the subtle and not so subtle ways I was made to feel different and inferior because of who I am, and where I come from.
Practicing my art became an outlet.
Contextually driven, the art I produce looks through the pages of United States' history to situate and understand who I am, where I came from, why I’m here and what it means to identify as Chicano in an increasingly globalized and connected world. Through an Ethnic Studies Critical/Transformative epistemology I engage with the past and explore the intertwining threads that influence the present.
Generally representational, I see my art within the realm of social realism, following in the footsteps of greats such as Gustave Courbet, Francisco Goya, and Diego Rivera, to name a few, I use portraiture and appropriation of popular iconography as entryways into discussions about the intersecting issues of identity, gender, race, class, history and politics. Bringing these discussions to the forefront of my art practice reflects my attempt to fill a personal void created by my experiences as a first generation Chicano. This introspection and creation are continually co-producing new and diverse understandings of myself, my community, and the realities of the past and present to find potential for the future.