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I am proud to be one of 20 artists selected for this traveling exhibition organized by The Kentucky Arts Council. The show is touring multiple galleries across Kentucky and runs from November 2021 to January 2023.
Click here for the tour schedule!
My piece is titled "Corazon de el Ohio- Heart of the Ohio". It depicts a black handmade reflective deer skull and rib cage with an exposed heart made of cockscomb surrounded in neurons. It is embellished with various foraged and found materials including dried and fake plants, seed pods, saturniid moth wings, turkey feathers, and hand printed materials mounted on a bed of dried moss and recycled cardboard. All natural objects were locally found.
"Corazon de el Ohio" is an ofrenda (altar) that celebrates the diverse ecosystems of the bluegrass state. It is a reflection of my experience living and working as a Queer Chicano in Kentucky. The various natural elements all hold small memories from when I found them, which is why I included the neurons around the "heart". My hope is that those who see the work will also find familiarity in the elements I used and that it may trigger memories of love and past experiences. The black skull loosely symbolizes coal, and is a nod to the hispanic and latinX immigrants who have helped power our homes and businesses in the coal mining towns of the commonwealth.
Like myself, this work is destined to die. The unsealed natural elements and hand made objects should fully biodegrade in the next 80-90 years. Falling apart is an artform.
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