El Peso de Tu Trabajo

This ongoing series of work exists between the tensions of heavy and light materials concerning labor (physical, mental, and emotional). Transportation pallets and corn husks are the primary materials for this series. This work functions as a tool to narrate realities tied to identity: primarily immigration, lower economic status, being first-generation, and existing as a queer individual.

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Corn husks have been synonymous with Mexican and American (the continent) culture for centuries. They exist as tools for food; but also function as material for crafts used in other traditions (ex., Memorial arrangements) and economic sustenance (ex., Dolls, and skills). Corn is harvested by immigrant hands primarily from Iowa but also transported internationally by Mexico for corn products. On la linea (the border crossing), families with children craft beautiful ornaments and dolls made of corn husks and palm leaves sold for just dollars to have enough to eat. The interest in rearranging and working corn husks exists to allude to these narratives of comfort and grief. 

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Wood shipping pallets connect to the industrial and warehouse labor present in the Inland Empire. The Inland Empire also has one of the highest rates of warehouse work employment. This employment has beneficial and detrimental effects on the communities adjacent to these workspaces. It is one of the top employers offering financial sustenance for many folks. Still, it has also been the cause of significant smog increases. Pallets are tools that carry and hold materials and goods nationally and internationally. These pallets have more access across borders than humans do. Although these tools are cumbersome, they have a purpose but are quickly discarded and found in garbage bins and alleyways.  

 

Corn husks are light and brittle, while pallets are heavy and dense. There are tensions between the environments these materials exist in, body-demanding jobs, and the comfort of a kitchen and community. The arrangement of these materials is conceptual, as there is no definite form. These installations and artworks speak to the weight of labor in its juxtaposing nature, both burden and pride.