Mixing it up Family Friends and Mentors

“The body exists within a larger “body”- a human energy field or aura, which is the vehicle through which one creates his/her experience of reality.”-Anonymous 

 I make large mural portraits of family, friends and mentors in Santa Fe and Los Angeles with a 4 x 5 camera. The subjects from diverse backgrounds and places tell stories of exclusion and negotiating the complexity of mixed identities with pathos and humor. Race is a social construct that has no scientific basis. America and all patriarchal societies have practiced forced acculturation and presented the idea as beneficial, when it only benefits the people in power. Instead of denying difference and trying to assimilate these individuals refuse to lose connection to culture and heritage. The portraits reverse the gaze upon the viewer and challenge preconceived ideas of representation, race and culture and explore the contradictions and challenges faced by those with mixed ancestry. Thinking about voice, body, representation, identity politics and the unique cultural experience that identifies each subject led to filming videos with personal storytelling about culture, food, xenophobia, and racism. The stories show that language is always in flux and how meaning and appropriateness change from community to community. Navigating between different family and outside cultures from youth requires people to become skilled in negotiating the interface between differences in a plural society.