My work is transitioning from using visual language that reflects my military experiences toward new investigations of the celebrated topics within my family’s lineage and folklore. I am seeking to gain understanding of family behaviors that ultimately choose to reject our Mexican lineage in favor of elevating our Spanish heritage. This work is an attempt to create a visual defense and to fight back against that denial of my identity. After years of considering the realities of celebrated militarism in this country and my role within that narrative, I am now yearning to return to the roots of my personal history and, like many in our communities today, I am considering new ways to commemorate the past that do not expect or require monuments to worship or heroes to promote. There are many layered symbols within my work that draw meaning from both personal trauma and the amplified collective trauma of the last two years.
