I create paintings that express the Mexican American diaspora through folkloric symbolism. I use bold color and dynamic lighting, and combine old word visual motifs with contemporary icons, to turn allegorical figures into representations of immigrants and their experiences and memories. I am interested in what happens when cultural heritage intersects with the incidental effects of assimilation. My work explores the resulting spark of identity that comes from this friction and what happens when we are forced to change.

Why do we choose to let go of certain cultural traits but hold onto others? What stories do we tell ourselves to stay connected to a world that we no longer belong to? I am drawn to the ethereal space between two cultures that is navigated by many but represented by few.