404Mestizos

Year: 2020

Media: Quilt

Dimensions: 86" x 93"

404 is an internet protocol that means that the place that houses the info you are seeking has been located, but your access has been denied. I use this internet protocol as a way to observe family, legacy, and identity.

Mestizo is a word that describes someone who is mixed race, especially one having Spanish and indigenous descent. This piece is about being 1st generation, and how assimilation destroys ancestry. My parents never taught me who my grandparents were or what their homeland was like, but I imagine their immigration journey was tough, and that the trauma of leaving may have been enough to keep the story secret. 

This quilt is about not knowing how to belong and making your way solely with instinct, curiosity, and self love. There are mistakes, and rips, and misalignments - but I find that all adds character and joy, just as perfection in quilting — although quite beautiful and impressive — doesn’t hold the quirks of the journey that craft the complex story of identity.