Artist Statement

As a queer Mexican-American and third-culture kid, I am intimately familiar with belonging in in-between spaces. I was raised in a very conservative and religious missionary family, living in Kazakhstan during my earliest childhood years. Later moving to predominantly white small towns in Indiana, I found myself to be a perpetual outsider, distinctly separate from my peers, and secretly skeptical of the religion I was raised in due to my insistent curiosity and incurable queerness (sadly, I did try to pray the gay away), until I finally summoned the bravery to step out and define myself on my own terms. My art has always been a mirror for me, a place to reflect on the strange and unique parts of what it means to be human. The parts of us that defy assimilation, risk being misunderstood, and insist on celebration. As an anti-disciplinary artist, I resist patriarchal and colonial concepts of mastery over a medium. I synthesize a common language between various materials such as painting, fiber arts, and video, pulling together disciplines that may seem incongruent on the surface. I utilize abstracted portraiture, color theory, and moiré patterns, crafting compositions that blur the lines between figures and their backgrounds. This deliberate ambiguity invites viewers to engage in a deeper dialogue with the artwork, encouraging us to look beyond the surface and uncover the layers of meaning hidden within. Through careful observation and a willingness to embrace curiosity, I hope to inspire a greater appreciation for nuance and complexity.