Artist Statement

I have chosen to surrender myself to the cuteness, both inside and outside, as a way to heal from the trauma and anxiety that comes with colonization and gendered violence. I believe in the revolutionary power of cuteness as a champion for strength while still acknowledging and harvesting its inherent creepy duality as a conveyer of painful truths. By using the interactive nature of video games, the textural and contemplative power of fibers, and the spatial world-building of 3D animation I am able to explore, create, and understand the spaces around me. In my work I confront the difficulty of home as an immigrant with one country, Puerto Rico, shattered by natural and economic disaster due to colonization, and the other, Mexico, dealing with post-colonial economic and political distress. The spaces I make then become digital and physical places full of texture, color, and intricate compositions. These spaces are zones of self-making and rearranging, healing, and catharsis, while at the same time acknowledging displacement and the continuous morphing of the meaning of home. I utilize vibrant colors as a Caribbean rebellion against white spaces and their saturation to cloak invisibility. Intuitive texture, bounce, and low-polygons dominate the landscape, allowing for poignant physical touch and connection even when viewed through a screen. My work reflects a radical love for not only myself in the face of power dynamics, but also my belief in earnestness. Earnestness allows me to engage with what I love in a genuine, dedicated, and loyal manner. With it I also create fanart to express this love, its depth, and my commitment to it. Becoming a fan lightens reality and emboldens feelings, even if only for the brief time one spends with the love-object. I believe in non-ironic approaches and the treasuring of feelings that bring joy, even when they do not center oneself as the maker.