Identity and Spirit

This three-cuff series narrates my two identities and my self. I used chasing and repousse to create raised forms on the copper sheets, then I painted scenes that depicted how I view myself in both Mexican and American cultures with oil.. Cuffs carry cultural significance, and in indigenous cultures they were not only an aesthetic, but also indicated high status and spiritual connections.

Antiquity consumes these cuffs, with both painting and chasing and repousse carrying a long history in art making. I chose to represent my self as a dove in this series because of their spiritual significance in Mexican culture. The designs of the raised forms are influenced by indigenous art, geometric and balanced. The colors I painted onto the cuffs also ensure that the exposed copper pops while also addressing the color schemes I see and feel in each country. The Mexico and United States cuffs both have a border around their cuffs, but the center cuff represents self and is left without borders to show an openness. While creating these cuffs, I felt that the imagery and design in each cuff had to be specific to its identity, while allowing the repeated material and process of the three cuffs to create uniformity in the series.

I struggle to feel that I belong to either country and there is a crisis to having “home” in two separate countries. “Identity and Spirit” shows what I am certain of. I belong to a family, a community, and to my self.