morir soñando, pollo guisado and the process of care

Abstract

This paper focuses on how care appears in my work, through process and labor. It answers questions about the motivations behind my artmaking process, by looking at personal histories, research, and current methods of making. Ruha Benjamin’s concept of the Black afterlife serves as a guiding thread throughout the paper. I reflect on her writing and discuss how the concepts in her work serve as a backdrop for much of the way I think about making artworks. This thesis is a contemplation on how personal conditions come into my work – like being affected by gentrification, growing up in an all-woman household, and being a part of the African Diaspora, while also honoring the role that material exploration plays in my process. The paper illustrates how the personal is ever present in the back of mind during the making process, and material/process allows for discovery, communication, and connection.