This is what I'm exploring themes of trepidation and transformation through life challenges with storytelling and culture identity. I’m using transformation in the form of hope that fights fear and anxiety using whimsical stories to cultural history.
For the show, I start with a phobia that I had as a child: Nyctophobia; fear of the dark. It is a short logo animation of what I saw in the dark. Another is abstract sculpture with the shape of that same logo design in the animation that is like a journey from dark to the light symbolizing words like bravery intelligence strength and compassion, which are qualities that we have for overcoming anything that gets in our way, or makes us feel anxious and scared. With those qualities I use them again for a wooden doll that resemble the women that served in the Mexican revolution in the 1910s through 20s which fits with cultural identity; which also fits in with my artwork that celebrates hard work that immigrants do, and that, even though they are afraid every day, they show true their heroism to their children to have a better life than they have. Another artwork involving my cultural identity is my board game that deals with being afraid of dying and death itself. However, I made this board game to show how we can take this fear and turn it into something fun and good to remember. Apart from the board game, another whimsical artwork has made is my short stop motion of my moth character who breaks social beauty standards and is afraid she to be perfect; which is a personal fear of mine. When it comes to fear, I also include personal fears such as my digital painting that involves the fear of separation after one person leaves, questions if we have the option to stick together or separate. When it comes to the subject of falling apart, it makes me think of my mindset; we just picked it in my abstract was sculpture depicting my mind, and they would be these wooden knights sculptures that are guarding my mindset from such fearful thoughts and negative self-doubt.
All my artwork begins with fear whether it's an actual phobia, imperfection, death, losing someone, or fear that's rooted in cultural survival; each one is a transformation from turning anxiety to resilience. I don'twant viewers to think that this is just about fear, but for them to understand fear and how to move through it or reshape them into something they love. My hope is that if viewers don't understand my explanation in my stories, they at least know that they leave with emotional resonance from my work.