This durational performance (1.5 hours) is an attempt by the artist to preserve her grandmother's memories- by pressing them into 100 paperback romance novels, just as one would press flowers into books. Throughout the piece, the artist silently reads different passages from each book, and either places an article of her clothing or a breath from her lungs within the pages, before stacking the books. By doing so, she is trying to place herself within her grandmother's (who solely read romance novels and has Alzheimer's) memories, and keep them safe.
This piece was shown at the ASU Art Museum as part of a series of performances within the Energy Charge: Connecting to Ana Mendieta exhibition in 2016.
This durational performance (1.5 hours) is an exploration of identity, and an attempt to preserve culture and memory. This work is a surreal mashup of elements of the artist's life and her interactions with her grandmother, who has Alzheimer's. Behind the artist in the installation are five bird feeders with fabric covering them. Throughout the piece, the artist takes down each bird feeder, and fills it with one of the ingredients used to make tamales. After each bird feeder is filled, it is hung back up, and covered (as you do with pet birds), to show that it is time to rest. While completing these actions, the artist is reciting the steps to make tamales, personal addresses, family member's name's, and The Lord's Prayer. Overtime, all of these phrases and actions become jumbled and mixed together, as if the artist is forgetting how to complete them.
This work was shown as part of the Live Art Platform series at Arizona State University in 2016.