ARTIST STATEMENT
My artwork investigates the relationship between cultural self-identity issues, isolation as a US-grown Latin woman, alienation, and escapism. My extreme stylization of natural subjects, particularly hot-climate plants and palm trees, stems from an anxious desire to explore the swarming landscapes of my imagination.
They are inextricably linked to my cultural background from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic) as well as Central America (Guatemala). A great inspiration for my work came from Brazil’s “Antropofagia” movement of the 1920s, started by modernist Oswald de Andrade and the painter Tarsila do Amaral, who focused on making art through their roots and “cannibalizing” foreign cultures as to ascertain ones’ own.
My botanical scenes are painted with imposing colors derived from fluorescent acrylics and a deep layering of overgrowing flora that consumes everything in its path, both symbolizing a desire for connection (light) and isolation (dark, dense) caused by the overgrowth. My translation through the use of plant symbolism poses the question of whether the overgrowth of the otherworldly greenery is going to relieve the viewer or swallow them whole.
The overgrowth connects with the idea of cultural isolation because my paintings are replications of real plants and the tropical regions exuding life and beauty through color, twisted by fantasy. I’d like to think my plants are comforting because I made them in abundance and a radiant color palette that draws viewers in, but it will not satiate the isolating experience of being in a false jungle, despite initial impressions. Viewers, nonetheless, may find comfort in it because of their own experiences, perhaps of a similar nature.
In conclusion, my work is my navigational map through topics such as the isolating experience of growing up apart from my heritage and how that has been affecting me here in the US. While the paintings showcase brilliant color and a warm lushness, implicating happiness and an attempt to connect to my ancestry, there are isolated areas where the facade of a deep, bluish-purple emptiness can be found.