Artist Statement

 

Much of my work revolves around personal memory.  In the midst of continually shifting traditions, boundary disputes, immigration wars and flexible identities, personal memory provides a stability that spans both time and relationships. Our histories give us a sense of self that is constant over time.  Sharing these stories creates the possibility for exchange, for recognizing oneself in the life of another.  Thus, personal memory is a sort of subjective anchor that regulates how we make sense of things.  Particular “anchors” that interest me include family narratives and objects worn with use.  In such intimate subjects I am able to clearly see the larger backdrop of life’s ephemerality.  It seems the smaller the voice, the more significant its words.

 

Many of my projects present fragments of a story.  I arrange photographs, personal possessions, or intermittent texts not to didactically inform, but to invite viewers into the narratives conveyed.  I  realize  the  past  is  a  blurred thing, and our present

 

understanding and re-presenting of it even more so.  However, it is this blurred area that also allows for a space of empathy and reflection.  So, viewers must evoke their own memories and experiences in order to relate to the memories and experiences of others. 

 

Paul Ricoeur pairs the ability to narrate – to give an account – with the feeling of accountability.  This implies a responsibility to speak, to share one’s history, and to listen to the histories of others.  And that is the objective of my work: to create an opportunity for such an exchange. 

 

 

Credits

 

Special thanks to Julio Cano, Keith and Kelly Godwin, Billy Burrow and the MAM.  Que Dios les bendiga. ¡Muchas gracias!