Ever since I can remember, I was told not to be what I am, Chicana. Discouraged from speaking my mother tongue and encouraged to pass, by the age of six I stopped speaking altogether. Language has always been central to my artistic and life observations. It wasn’t until I was in my 40s that I discovered that I was dyslexic. With this new understanding it became clear to me why my disenfranchisement with written language was so profound. I returned to school and formally began to study art. I found my voice in organic materials and the creation of three dimensional forms. The silence in art allows me to think; it’s a place where objects become words and process becomes the dialogue. I live in a state of Nepantla, the world in-between. Between memory and longing, and that is where my art resides.
Photos for this artist.
Residency: November 2004 - January 2005
Art Exhibition: Friday, January 21 & Saturday, January 22
Visit Viviana Paredes' website
Photos for this artist.