KARTO GRA'FIA 2008 + 2009
Installation at MonOrchid Gallery, Phoenix, Arizona. Canvas, poly-fiberfill, hand-fused felt.
This installation explores and maps my bilingual experience, particularly as it relates to the points where the structures of the two different languages meet, overlap and fuse together. The suspended doors, made of canvas and poly-fiberfill, represent the two languages I juggle on a daily basis, English and Spanish. The large suspended web, made of hand-fused felt between the doors represents the interconnectivity between these two languages colloquially termed Spanglish. This intricate web becomes a map of speech, a mesh of cultures, and an imaginary landscape of neurons stretched and pulled in many directions. The doors become the frame for this imaginary space, engaging the visitor in a visceral experience of bilingualism.
Photographs by Quincy Ross