underlying Borders

Mexican Cultural Institute, Washington, D.C., March 14 - June 1, 2019

Underlying Borders brought together the work of five artists with an experience of migration between Mexico and the United States, who, from their own experience as migrants, work from perspectives that seek to blur and interweave elements through, and across, borders, drawing on the tension that exists between distant locations.

The participating artists explore concepts related to identity, culture, and nationality through a variety of approaches and processes. Their work is a manifestation of their experience within these transition zones. They challenge us to consider, from distinct points of views, how we think of memory, the body, stereotypes, and implicit violence in our intertwined countries.

I participated in this exhibition with the three works shown below.

My life and personal identity have been shaped by the United States, Colombia, and Mexico.

I was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in a diverse international community. As a child, I was unaware of how unique my situation was, but as my life progresses, I am increasingly conscious of how extraordinary it was to grow up surrounded by so many languages and cultures. My mother, a Colombian immigrant and immigration lawyer, worked with thousands of clients from all over the world. People and circumstances from her professional practice often overlapped with our life at home, and that experience had a tremendous impact on my life and how I see the world.

My exposure to other kinds of people and cultures may have had less to do with the country I was born in than the character of my natal city and the birthplace and occupation of my mother, but there are few nations in the world where the circumstances of my ancestry would be so commonplace. I am both the first and the thirteenth generation of my family to be born in the United States, and my son is a first-generation immigrant. I find this simultaneity to be a fascinating invitation to consider the meaning of nationality and how our identities are affected by it.

When I was 22, I went to Mexico to study Spanish. During that time I met my husband, and instead of staying for the originally planned seven months, I lived there for twelve years. My children were born in Mexico and most of my first adult experiences took place there. There are many parts of my life that I only have the vocabulary for in Spanish. Mexico has had a profound influence on my way of thinking about life, making art, and raising children. In a roundabout way, my life in Mexico has also given me keys to unlock the mysteries of my Colombian heritage.

The role that Colombia played for most of my life was abstract and confusing to me. Haphazard groupings of Spanish phrases, particular foods, and occasional trips to Bogota to visit family were surely a part of who I was, but what that meant was beyond my comprehension. Because my mother’s unusual immigration to the United States happened three decades before my birth, the influence that Colombia had on her and our family was often subtle and hard to distinguish. I am now writing a book about my mother’s journey and our Colombian family’s history. Having lived in Mexico has given me the language and a general cultural framework that have helped me to advance in that process and uncover layers of my family’s past. In fact, I don’t believe I would have ever even looked for much of what I am learning about had I stayed in the United States.

My artwork is consistently influenced by these different cultures. While I sometimes explore immigration and cultural identity as subject matter, the materials I choose and the process I undergo to make art is always informed by the crossing and interweaving of these emotional and psychological borders within my life.