“Exploration and Manifestation”

Through my artwork, I explore myself and the world around me. I explore personal, social and political issues that concern me. By walking around, watching and reading both local and international news, observing how people act, how we communicate, how we separate from each other every day and how as a society we try to hide or ignore issues that surround us. Investigation, imagination and dreams direct the creation of sketches or phrases that cluster into a mass that eventually leads to the manifestation of thoughts and ideas.

These manifestations take the form of a sculpture, print, or an installation, depending on how I want the viewers to see a particular issue through the interaction with a piece. I often avoid representation; rather, I prefer expressing my emotions towards a topic by the use of materials. Pattern, repetition and abstraction are common in my work, but the most important element is the viewers’ reactions to the piece. My artwork is not pleasant to the eye in that it depicts violence, destruction and confusion. One example is “City of the Future” an installation piece that presents my concerns about the violence in Mexico, particularly the increasing number of homicides in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, which has been classified as one of the most violent cities in the world. This city used to be called the “city of the future” due to the abundance in job opportunities, but today people are afraid to talk about Ciudad Juarez. For this piece, I explored this issue in detail by collecting articles about Ciudad Juarez over a period of four months. Then I expressed my thoughts, ideas and findings in the form of an Installation.

There is more than enough art that speaks of beauty – but there is little art about ugliness, fear or art that tackles social and political issues. Art is not just the creation of an ornament that can be hung on a living room all. Art can inform and direct people to think about particular topics that are often ignore. I create art because it gives me the freedom to completely express my emotions, thoughts and ideas. My art defines me and I define my art.