My exhibition’s objective is to confront the viewer with artworks of an undermined reality. The art focuses on the lives of Latin immigrants and the struggles they face in a foreign country. I have explored themes of identity, cultural traditions, and family in a narrative form. Coming from a family that had to migrate and build up their life from nothing, I have always been shocked by the deplorable way immigrants are perceived. During Donald Trump’s presidency campaign and time in office, true feelings regarding immigrants came to light and how inferior they were considered. The terms “illegal,” “aliens,” and even “animals” were used repeatedly to describe immigrants during his time in office. I explored different aspects of a Latin immigrant’s life, from the beginning of their journey to how they maintain their native culture.

 

The vision for presenting the work is to visualise a narrative that is not linear since immigrants’ journey isn’t linear. All my works have an element of pattern, this was done with the intention of attracting the viewer’s attention and enhancing the subject matter. Using line, color and shape, I attempted to transport the viewer to similar standpoints and emotions an immigrant faces.To execute this, I have ordered the pieces from the beginning of an immigrant’s journey to when they have established themselves in society. As the art progresses, it becomes more detailed and expressive in the colour palette, the pieces shy away from neutral colors and utilizes different values of the primary colors. Pieces such as “Traditions never Change” and “A Piece of Something Bigger” demonstrate much more refined detail and beaming color palettes, it contrasts “We Made It?,” “Three generations, same story,” and “A Different Kind of Sky” that use more neutral, translucent colors, and less evident subject matter. In  “We Made It?,” and “My Dreams are not Illegal,” it is clear I explore the use of distortion in my compositions and how it enriches the subject matter. When taking into account the artworks as a whole, some portray realism qualities and others have more symbolic essence. Needless to say, this is done with the intent to show the audience how immigrants do not have access to the rights and privileges many citizens have, many immigrants encounter and grapple with harsh realities where they are frowned upon. 

 

The left side of my exhibition draws focus on the arrival of immigrants. For instance, “Three generations....” and “A Different...” are all put together due to the similar subject matter, the initial euphoric feeling of a new life in a different society. “Three generations..” illustrate a personal connection to me, with my Grandfather positioned in the center who immigrated to Venezuela from Italy, my mother on the left who immigrated from Venezuela to the United States, and me as a toddler who was raised in New York with a heavy emphasis on Venezuelan culture. The left side is more symbolic than realistic. “A Different...,” illustrates immigrants’ initial euphoric feeling of arriving in the US, in pursuit of a greater life and all the hope instilled in them that they are capable of achieving it. This montage highlights more American monuments and the person featured, my father, builds a buoyant atmosphere. 

 

The middle of the exhibition consists of “We Made It?” and “My Dreams...,” which is a transition that exposes the harsh realities immigrants have.“We Made It?” utilizes brighter colors, yet the subject matter is dark since the bold gates that surround the city are keeping out the immigrants on the boat. It is also displayed in the displeased face the Statue of Liberty has due to the boat entering. In“My Dreams...,” the subject matter is enhanced by mixed materials such as cotton balls and yarn, exploring a diverse medium. 

The right side of my exhibition has a lighter subject matter, displaying the life of immigrants once they have settled themselves. In “A Piece…,” the billboards do contain messages confronting the audience with issues immigrants have been accused of. However, the mother and child display a more positive theme, where immigrants have the opportunity to give their children a greater life than they would have in their native country. I chose to end with the following pieces “Hasta la Raíz,” “Back to...,” “Traditions…,” because it presents how Latin immigrants maintain their own culture and traditions regardless of moving from their native country. The ending pieces are more refined in detail and use patterns to depict how immigrants value their traditions.