Artist Statement

My dad was in the bead business importing from China to Mexico. As his business slowly went into deficit, he went from producing beads to textiles to keep my family afloat. He accumulated hundreds of boxes of beads that are crammed into four rooms in Mexico City, stacked top to bottom waiting to become something. With nowhere to go, but taking up physical space, the beads that were once the source of my family’s income are now considered to be a burden. I feel it is my responsibility to my family, and also to the material that was created to make something of every single bead in that warehouse. 

I weave beads into flexible surfaces to create protection wear. Beadwork is a physical outcome of a process; it is evidence of time and quantity. We are living through a moment that could change our view on what is “normal.” I have never felt more anxious living in America, a country that is supposed to be my home; a country my parents immigrated to seventeen years ago in hopes for a better life. The past several months have proved to me that I would never be accepted as American because of my “othering” face. Through the usage of different imagery: ranging from patterns to text, I question if labor and beauty can disguise hate and make the wearer feel protected.