Wool and Banana Fibers on Crocheted Wig Caps, Projection Design, Experiential Installation.
Undergraduate
In 2008, I was sitting in the house I’ve always known. The couch, donated by my grandmother, was as scratchy as it’s always been. I ran to my sister with her long waves. She attempted to dry brush my knotted curls and spoke softly, “Why does your head look so different from mine?”
SHE HAS TO BE SELF-SUFFICIENT was born out of conversations with my mother; realizing a generational pattern. However, it was not an easy process to deconstruct. Everything I make is a thread that connects me to ancestors whose name no one remembers; this is how I choose to remember them. Through my research, I have found that Afro-Latino communities use physical manifestations to continue passing down history and traditions. But what happens when they get lost through time?
From my abuelos stories, my mother stories, and processing my youth, I’ve found a connection that our hair became a marker of how people perceive us through the lens of race and ethnicity. I want you to see the world in a new perspective, I want you to understand it’s not always easy. These challenges and exclusions will never stop us from existing; we will continue to be here.
