SAFE HAVEN

“Safe Haven” is the title of my Goldsmiths MFA Degree Show exhibition, which took place in the Ben Pimlott Building from July 20-25, 2023. The works included are autobiographical and investigate monumental experiences in my life. Many of the experiences referenced are challenging, and the artworks assume a role as vehicles for psychological coping and experiential processing. An example is the work Portrait of a woman from a developing nation. Portrait of a Peruvian woman. Portrait of a woman who cannot visit her daughter without a visa. Portrait of my mother–you are always with me. I miss you., which reflects on challenges that my family is presently facing due to the travel restrictions imposed on individuals from developing nations. Being Peruvian, my mother is not permitted to enter or transit through the United Kingdom unless she undergoes a rigorous visa acquisition process. The work acts both as a political statement born of frustration with a bureaucratic and discriminatory policy and an expression of deep love and sadness. The jacket itself was once my mother’s. It is a tangible reminder of her embrace, and I have embroidered her likeness upon it as a way to carry her with me. The text written on the jacket’s sleeves are letters that we wrote to each other – I wrote on one sleeve, mailed the jacket to her, and she in turn wrote and mailed it back to me. I worked on this piece over the course of ten months. The meticulous treatment, labour and length of time involved in the construction of this work underline its prominent role as a coping strategy facilitating my emotional assimilation of this experience. Similarly, in the work He wants to erase me, I depict myself embodying how I wanted to feel at the time. During a period when I felt deeply disempowered, I painted myself resilient, with a wide stance and hands crossed, facing the viewer. In this portrait I am wearing a red jumpsuit, signalling power and confidence while paying tribute to Peru's flag and culture. The style of the garment I am wearing is reminiscent of tondero and festejo attire, two types of Peruvian folk music, tondero having originated in my home city of Piura. I view these works and the exhibition overall as an effort to voice my experiences and ground myself — by referencing empowering body language and colour, introducing a comforting object that reminds me of my mother and drawing on my heritage.

Artworks

Portrait of a woman from a developing nation. Portrait of a Peruvian woman. Portrait of a woman who cannot visit her daughter without a visa. Portrait of my mother–you are always with me. I miss you., 2023

ecnarbmemeR, 2023, 21 x 15.25cm, Oil on canvas

No te des por vencida Zully. Eres resiliente como aquel árbol. Aunque la vida te ponga pruebas difíciles y a veces te caigas, eres luchadora igual que tu mamá y seguirás adelante. Deja que la naturaleza cure tus heridas. Ahí encontrarás paz. 2022, 20 x 16 inches, Oil on panel

He wants to erase me, 2022, 70 x 35 centimeters, Oil on canvas

Immigrant, 2022, 80 x 60cm, Oil and graphite on canvas