Artist Statement – Two Worlds

Origins

I grew up listening to stories about my maternal family’s experiences during La Violencia, a very dark period of the Colombian history, and the displacement from our hometown. My mother, aunts and uncles shared these stories repeatedly, as if they were ongoing. These stories of forced migration and trauma, archival family photos, and the feeling of loss have been an important part of the inspiration for my projects on migration. Thus, “Dos Mundos” [Two Worlds] is a recollection of memories, conversations with migrant mothers about the notion of home and family, what they have built in the U.S., and a visual documentation that feels to be taken from memory.

People gather in Betania (Colombia) town square in support of Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, the liberal presidential candidate. Gaitán was assassinated before the elections took place on April 9, 1948. A civil war that lasted more than sixty years broke out in Colombia after Gaitán’s assasination.

Panoramic view of Betania, Colombia, taken in 1950.

Photo of Betania town square taken on a Monday afternoon in 1950. Betania was burned down after the civil war (also known as La Violencia) broke out in 1948.

My maternal family poses for a portrait upon their arrival in Santa Rosa de Cabal, Colombia, after they were displaced from our hometown in 1950.