Today’s political climate demonizes and dehumanizes undocumented immigrants, specifically those from Latin American countries. Resiliencia (Resilience), transforms prejudices and/or negative associations about immigrants into art. This collaborative project between Maria Amalia Wood and I, begins by finding hateful comments on youtube and printing them on handmade paper. The handmade paper is then embedded into Amate paper, a traditional Mexican papermaking technique in which rocks are used to beat paper fibers into a sheet of paper. The formation of these Amate papers are done with community members to build awareness of the racism and discrimination that undocumented immigrants face while engaging in a therapeutic, positive, and productive process. Pounding events will continue across the United States until we have enough paper to create a 30 foot tall wall of paper. This paper will then be installed in an art exhibition. Video projection of Latino immigrant parties, gatherings, food preparation, and interviews with undocumented immigrants will then be projected onto this wall of paper to create a platform for them to share their world views.
Resiliencia at Kent State University, Kent, OH
Resiliencia at The Overture Center, Madison, WI
