The Bronx Museum

I have grown up in a family of artists and inventors. My grandfather built his home from the ground up, creating his life from scratch. My grandmother grew up painting, and has used her experience to coach people of all ages on painting technique as she’s gotten older. My father fell in love with the bass at age 14, moving to NYC immediately after graduating from college to pursue his dreams of playing music. My mother, the youngest of seven siblings from a small 2-bedroom apartment in Tudor City, has always sewn her own clothes, restyling hand-me-downs for herself, my father, and my brother and I. She also repurposed and upcycled materials to create masks for community members during quarantine. Her mother was also a painter, and had a career in speech therapy to help people find and powerfully use their voices. My childhood was spent dancing to music my father composed in outfits my mother made, with paintings of my grandmothers watching over me. I have been inspired by the innovation of each member of my family, and it has motivated me in all aspects of my life, including my own art practices. The blocks of overlapping color serve to represent the intersectionality of my family’s different artistic styles and how they’ve blended together to spark my own growth. The diagonal of the letters in contrast with the binary vertical and horizontal lines show how I am developing my own unique interpretation of my family’s artistic attributes.

A void of lingering eyes scattered alongside bright vibrant colors, with the word “vocal” spread across. This depicts the uncontrollable chaos of questions, thoughts, or opinions that roam within my head. The vibrant splatters of an array of colors are hidden behind the word vocal to symbolize the behind-the-scenes of a mind that is consumed by thoughts. I believe the voice is a form of high power. So, using it to express the accumulative thoughts that I possess in my head gives me a form of relief. Even when my thoughts are not properly processed, just the feeling of being able to blurt out my trapped thoughts provides me a place of escapism.

Where does a train of thought begin and end? A well of consciousness has hazy ends and beginnings. When asked to choose a word to summarize self-definition, “introspective” stood out as a word central to my relationship with myself. It starts in what can be either depth or obscurity, trickling its way up to clarity or lack of depth. I use the letters, decreasing in size and magnanimity as they get closer to the surface, to continue this metaphor of depth and water. The metaphor of water is like that of Narcissus. How far back can you look into yourself before being considered literally too absorbed with yourself? As a teenager, reflecting too much on your self pity can drown you and make you detached from reality. While I don’t view it as a healthy habit, trying to dive as far deep into yourself and your experiences can give richness and opacity to life, and this work.

The unexpected is a void; a void waiting to be explored. It is unknown and untouched, just like the summer sky or perhaps the dark blue ocean. Over time, whether on purpose or not, the line often becomes a blur. Every day is a new day full of new beginnings, so why not tackle it head-on? Instead of waiting, choose to act; the time will never be right unless you make it the right time. There are so many opportunities out there, however, nobody can do the exact things you can do. As a person who has spent all their life waiting, my previous experiences have taught me to try before limiting myself. This artwork is a mirror of me, the two colors illustrate my two worlds clashing together while this question keeps replaying in my mind. So? Who? If not I?

The word optimistic means to be hopeful and confident in the future. This piece of art is an accurate visual representation of the word. Each color on this piece dripped from one end of the paper to the other to create the final product. With little to no idea what the piece would look like when dry, a sense of optimism was needed. Optimism allowed me to navigate the challenges and keep a positive mindset to focus on the growth and possibilities of my piece.

‘Fable Love’ to me is an embodiment of love and happiness in our lives. While love and happiness can be gained and accessed from anywhere, it can also be lost anywhere and anytime. But in times of need and despair, we must hold on to the belief that we make our happiness. We must acknowledge how indifferent the universe is towards our struggles and humble ourselves with the notion that nothing and no one can tell you who you are, and who you should be. You make that decision for yourself and others should do the same.