Traditions Gave Him the Strength to Find His Own Path

This is the story of an African man who emigrated to Colorado with his family when he was eleven years old. He told me about the constant tension he feels between the traditions his parents brought from their country and his desire to live as a modern American man. All of this is greatly affected by his Catholic beliefs. In dreams, the giraffe represents a desire to be different. The elephant is a symbol of strength. The black paints are my way of highlighting elements and showing the motion of energy.

The dreamy, blurry giraffe came from a manipulated National Geographic photo. I printed my photo of the man’s arms on a thick cotton rag paper. I manipulated a photo of a snake shedding its skin and printed it on a thin, transparent cotton thread paper. I then shredded the edges to give it the physical texture and appearance that my subject was shedding his skin to become the man he wants to be.

2018 – 48” x 12” x 2”
Mixed Media: handmade papers and paper ephemera, my photography and digital art, oil paint on wood panel