Refracted

Artist Statement Through my paintings and prints, I am exploring the idea of displaced identity through the obfuscation and distortion of the figure using both perceptual experience and formal interventions. My process involves observing my reflection in a mirror with broken pieces of glass attached to it, which interrupts the continuity of the representation of my image. Further, I use multi-hued, broken modulation to describe the figure in expressive, linear brushstrokes. The use of glass is meant as an allegory for fragility. Because the mirror image is an element of identity, the broken down reflection is intended as a deconstruction of the self, which is often related to feelings of insecurity and inferiority. I sometimes break down the image further by by attaching my relief prints to my image. The process of carving away at my image has the same purpose conceptually of dislocating and abstracting my identity. Fragmentation of my image caused by the reflections in glass and the linework in the prints not only disrupts spatial logic, but also refuses to let the viewer see me fully. This push and pull allows me to express my unwillingness to let others approach me and get to know me. I am influenced by Cristina Troufa’s spiritual self portraits, which showcase a part of her that is unreachable to the viewer by leaving large negative spaces unpainted in her body in contrast with a realistic depiction of herself. I am also inspired by Jenny Saville’s use of hyperrealism to illustrate the palpable quality of the human skin through thick paint application and expressive brushstrokes. I want to place myself in the contemporary dialogue about the fragmentation of my identity as a latin american woman living in a foreign country through the process of making this work and relating to my viewers experiences of negotiating their own complex identities. Like many, I subconsciously affix my reflection with my ‘self,’ yet this relationship is not stable, and constantly changes. To delve into this issue, I immerse myself in an optical environment in which my reflection is broken down, representing this feeling of misplacement. The push and pull of the paint against the flatness of the prints creates an ambiguous sense of space. This reality in which I observe my fragmented mirror image feels more palpable and true to experience than the idea of a seamless, unified reality