Description
This project researches cultural productions that reveal connections between visual spiritual practices and migration from Latin America--primarily from Mexico and Central America--to the US. Along with looking at the visual practices of popular spirituality, I research narratives that represent migrant experiences and that treat questions of faith and popular beliefs. I look into votives paintings created in relation to popular expressions of the Catholic faith, in particular, la Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos, as well as other popular saints in communities impacted by migration. My findings in this research inform my artistic interpretation of visual culture that reveals forms of popular spirituality and how they help process and document the experiences and traumas of migration. This research project seeks to understand the ways that groups use visuals representations to maintain a sense of community in the face of migration. My findings reveal that this sense of community is an important expression of collective loss and absences that are often part of communities living in the diaspora.
Visual Narratives of Spirituality and Migration
This project researches cultural productions that reveal connections between visual spiritual practices and migration from Latin America--primarily from Mexico and Central America--to the US. Along with looking at the visual practices of popular spirituality, I research narratives that represent migrant experiences and that treat questions of faith and popular beliefs. I look into votives paintings created in relation to popular expressions of the Catholic faith, in particular, la Virgen de San Juan de Los Lagos, as well as other popular saints in communities impacted by migration. My findings in this research inform my artistic interpretation of visual culture that reveals forms of popular spirituality and how they help process and document the experiences and traumas of migration. This research project seeks to understand the ways that groups use visuals representations to maintain a sense of community in the face of migration. My findings reveal that this sense of community is an important expression of collective loss and absences that are often part of communities living in the diaspora.