Jakuinde's photostream  

Ni soy de aquí, Ni soy de allá. 2010
(I am neither from here nor from there.)
Jaqueline Arias

My practice is concerned with issues of identity; both cultural and personal, as well as the idea of home and belonging. This project has been something I’ve been working on for the past couple of years, was spurred by an identity crisis that I went through at the time. I felt like I needed to identify with being either Mexican or American, which led me to reject my American side for a while. I fought to just be Mexican but the Mexican culture rejects my kind, they called me a “pocha” by my “Mexican” friends because I was born in the U.S., so I was stuck in-between of not being accepted by either culture. In time, I decided that I would consider myself of both cultures no matter what anybody said, I am American because I was born in the U.S. but I am very much Mexican too, I love my burgers as well as my tacos just the same, I love both countries and am critical of them, I feel at home in both.

Past work demonstrates my tendency for topics of identity. I’ve done from childhood photograph recreations; in search for that child’s innocence. Where I took photographs of myself from the family album, and recreated the scene. I was left with the sense of failure in trying to recreate this scene with its totality, the innocence is lost. I’ve also done a series on teenage pregnancy and its effect on the family (male figures).

Going through this identity crisis inspired me to explore both of my environments photographically. My work shown here was made in Morelia, Michoacán (Mexico) and here in Chicago. The photographs are reflections of the places that are significant to me or I frequented in either Morelia or Chicago. I used abstractions of photographs to change the perceptions of each city using only texture, color, and some hints as to location. Together in a grid-like fashion I am combining photographs that mark places in two very different cultures, which help define me.

In future projects I will continue to work with topics of cultural (social) identity, home, and belonging, but hope to expand from personal issues into more external topics; using external subjects and their idea of identity, belonging, and the home.