LA ISLA: CURRENT PROJECT
Barcelona. August 2023 - Present
This is a body of work that tells the story of the creation of a new fantastical social reality. Our story begins with a suffering girl who, out of desperation, cuts off her braids and buries them: “ENTERRÉ MIS TRENZAS.” Her braids take seed in the clay of the earth and soon birth a fantastical, sacred, queer utopia: an island whose brilliantly hot, fertile surface envelops a dark and cavernous interior. This body of work is an exploration of the island as it develops. The island presents itself to new characters as they fight against their traumas, and together, our inhabitants forge a new reality and community. Collectively conquering their pasts makes them all but divine; harnessed trauma yields a powerful creative energy capable of rewriting the past and molding the present & future land, body, and self.
The foundational concept of this project is “I Will Help Hold Your Haunted.” On the island, this manifests in numerous ways: individually, as characters grow and confront their pasts, they harness the strength to hold the haunted of their past selves. Collectively, the community is a source of mutual empowerment that is born out of a shared history. As it fashions a new world, it rejects past systems of oppression and exploitation not by forgetting them altogether, but by holding sacred the haunting trauma that brought these characters together; joy holds suffering as the present holds the past, creation stands on destruction as the island’s warm surface is suspended over a hollow interior. And finally, the island itself is a physical manifestation of a vessel which both literally holds the buried pasts of these queer characters and provides the very clay by which the revolutionary community is nurtured and molded.
SIX FEET UNDER IS THE HOME OF MY HAIR
acrylic, collage, colored pencil, fabric, found objects, graphite, oil pastel, stickers, thread, wax crayon; on canvas.
51”x63”
2023
This work illustrates the creation and building of a fantastical, sacred, utopic, and queer island. On the left, the character knits together memories of the future to birth a feathered swamp: the island's sacred water source. On the right the second character dances with memories, stories & fairytales of the past, molding histories into substances to conceive the land of the island.
Through smaller scale pieces seen above (ranging from 7”x5” - 30”x36”) I explore and continue to expand on the physical & cosmic origins of the island, its spirits, and its inhabitants. These works act as a meditation on mapping La Isla through time, space, memories & stories, multiple realities and a variety of characters, many of whom are not human.
Consider: Confusing borders — Melding Boundaries — Blurred & Morphing Lines
In an intimate textile project La Flora y La Fauna de La Isla Encantada, seen below, I explore the landscape and terrain of La Isla. The 30 individual collages are studies of the island's flora and fauna, depicting fantastical and ethereal vegetation. The collages are hand sewn onto a burlap and woven cotton, and further embroidered and stitched to explore the movement of water, geological terrain and the footprints of deities, inhabitants, spirits & creatures. Each piece ranges from approximately 7"x9" - 10"x12".
THE ARRIVAL
acrylic, collage, colored pencil, fabric, found objects, graphite, oil pastel, stickers, thread, wax crayon; on canvas.
60”x72”
2024
This work depicts a recent arrival to the island. As in many mythological tales, the horse pictured is both a messenger between our social reality and La Isla (a guardian angel of sorts), as well as an aid & guide to deliver characters safely to La Isla. The character pictured is haunted, in pain, and suffering from her recent traumas, but with the aid of the Messenger, has overcome the adversity she faced. She remains a profound and proud warrior, and has arrived to the island to heal, and find a new loving, queer, and fantastical community.
