Growing up on the U.S./Mexico border established my wonderment of deceptively benign, nonsensical sayings. People uttered little phrases in Spanish like “buscale tres patas de gato” (looking for three cat legs). If someone was looking for three cat legs it alluded to a person focusing on a portion of something, and not the whole, short sight vs. foresight. This method of dialog made it possible to discuss serious topics through a filter or a buffer. It became way of creating a space between something complex and transforming it into an experiential space. The artistic and social practices employed in the work are forged by this allegorical approach to cultural issues. The objects, digital drawings, and relational interactions exist as a venue for exploring community exchange, coded metaphors, and how the American Dream has changed over time. Some projects are dependent and respond to peoples’ interactions with the work, while others are explore material and iconography.

Initially, many of my projects begin as drawings and experimentation. By utilizing the process of drawing in traditional and non-traditional formats, I am able to map out a trajectory of where the larger interactive work may become. These minor works become the foundation of my explorations. Graphic images from the media, politics, snippets of film, and everyday occurrences act as metaphorical indicators of the pulse of social culture. The work created strives to be open and attempts to understand how objects and images are utilized within the social constructs of power while trying to understand the horror and beauty of the human experience in hope of creating a forum of communication and community engagement.