Maria and Dora, The Cleaners Artwork

My artistic practice explores labor, memory and migration via textile works. It portrays New York based undocumented immigrants working as food vendors. As an immigrant myself I asked my fellow immigrants to send me photos of themselves at their place of work. I created embroidery works based on those images. This way community members are not just involved in the project, but they are co-designers and co-creators of the project themselves. My work uses a vibrant sense of color, paying homage to my Latin American heritage, this showcases immigrant food vendors in a way viewers would find striking yet familiar. Due to their legal status, participating workers in this “undocumented immigrant” project decided not to reveal their identities. The medium of embroidery allows me to acknowledge the contributions of the immigrant workers I portray while at the same time conceal and protect their identities. Embroidery also allows me to include the concept of repetition often found in manual labor, addressing notions of visibility related to immigrant labor in the U.S. In this time of exclusion and displacement, my work seeks to bring attention to histories at risk of erasure while envisioning a more tolerant, connected, interdependent future.

Mixed Media:Fiber on Soft (yarn, Cotton, Fabric)

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:11 W x 14 H x 1 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.