Kinetic Papel Picado Sculpture

My current works of art: kinetic, papel picado sculptures, honor and explore the evolution of feminine identity and the impact of civilization. Cultural history with memory as a process inspires my work and is designed to encourage dialog about the transformation that occurs when connecting the wisdom of the domestic through ancient instinct. I utilize and follow my intuition- what Gloria Anzaldúa refers to as ‘La Facultad.’ These sculptural objects, or what scholar Laura Pérez refers to as altarities, commemorate and honor the history of our ancestors.

The contemporary use of amatl (Mesoamerican bark paper) and the art of papel picado, with silkscreen, fused with modern kitchen oilcloth in my work, began as an aesthetic choice personifying the ancient power of the domestic then progressed as what Cherríe Moraga and Celia H. Rodríguez would call a ‘force for re-membering.’ 

 The use of gold or ancient amatl paper juxtaposed with the modern kitchen oilcloth, reminds us that we as women are vulnerable yet powerful against the destructive, transformative forces and history of patriarchy. The negative spaces in the work represent what has been taken and forgotten- the careful precision of institutional violence and urban trauma that ‘cuts’ far into our ancestral DNA. When these sculptural forms are suspended & dramatically lit, the shadows produced are like hidden flaws and terrible truths, revolving and adapting, reflecting their surroundings; an allegory of the darkness of humanity that lies within and around us. What we are left with is the duality, the memory of what it means to be human.

 These altars behave like kinetic objects. They spin and move freely like mobiles, enduring memories, carrying an emotional stillness, filled with mourning and humble celebration. May this contribution to the art world Inspire deep self-reflection and self determination to consider the question:

How do we want to be remembered?