Original artwork description:

The subject in the painting is in between her dream space and reality. I wanted to show what is going on inwardly in her mind, as she is wondering about her identity. I wanted to express the conflict she experiences between how others see her and how she sees herself as this added layer of multiculturalism complicates her search for identity. She is on the line between the culture of her national heritage and the American culture and she may have to often change herself, depending on what social group she is together with. This line may never go away, even if she gets older, as the two sides of her may always have to conflict with each other.
The butterflies represent her national heritage, as well as her immigrant experience. The monarch butterflies are well known for migrating from Mexico to the U.S. and going back to Mexico during the winter. When they hibernate in Mexico, they use the very same trees each year, which seems interesting, because they aren’t the same butterflies from last year. They are like the new fourth generation of monarch butterflies. But they know which trees are the right ones to hibernate in. So I used this idea to show how our past and cultural background is still embedded in us, even though we keep constantly changing as we adapt to a new culture.

Materials used:

Oil

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