'Perennial'

This self-portrait entitled “Perennial” the subject summarizes her family’s resilience when faced with adversity and compares her own journey of assimilation into predominantly white community to that of her parents in the early 1950’s. The three stories unfold through symbolism and representational color. The pull between tradition, and conformity, masculinity and femininity, and artistic expression and practicality can be experienced. She divides her piece into three parts; The Roots, (The Blouse,) The Plant (Braids and Head) The Blossom (The Face)
The Blouse represents the origins of both parents. New Mexico represented in the color of the famous turquoise gemstone with texture and “growth” pointing upwards towards the collar or “leaves” the plant bifurcates into separate plants.
The Braids and Head - from the subject’s bottom right braid, follow her mother’s journey from life in the small town of Socorro, New Mexico, represented as four tightly woven turquoise strands, her family of four, transitioning gradually to a pale blue, representing the family’s relocation to Los Angeles, California in the early 1950’s. Gradually the strand loosens, and meanders in and out of the multi-colored, (multi-cultural) surrounding strands. In the background the blue hue intensifies as it reaches the top of the scalp, moving further away from the turquoise of home, into blue, Los Angeles life. The lightest, strand, makes its way to the foreground. Reflecting a new found confidence and ready to seek out greater opportunities, the now intensely silver strand is intertwined with an equally visible second strand, representing the second wave of the feminist movement in the 1960’s, and stays loosely woven until ultimately resting with its mirror image.
Similarly, beginning at the subject’s bottom left, we witness her father’s journey from his tiny adobe home in San Jose, New Mexico, also represented in turquoise. However, the braid pattern is opposite, neatly woven, and contains more sections, representing his family members. The left ear is almost entirely hidden, a reference to her father’s childhood loss of hearing, and the single dominant strand, weaves in and out, as her father did as a deaf child often living away from family at the Santa Fe school for the deaf, before emerging as dominant streak of silver. Eventually, the strong silver strand joins at the top of the scalp with clearly visible Roots, a nod to the foundation he laid forth for his own children.
With both dominant strands now uniting at the forefront of the scalp there is virtually no “part” visible. Representing her parent’s union of more than 55 years.
The Head- In the background, behind her mother’s silver streak, also in blue, are four distinct bumps representing each of the four children. A majority of the subject’s hair is parted to the right, the strands being uneven, curvy and less rigid, symbolic of her right brain dominance. The left side is thinner, neat and tidy, evenly spaced, representing her less dominant logical brain.
The Face - Just below the union of the two silver streaks, the “blossom” is formed as the face. Deep beneath the flesh, are layers of yellow and red, for the Spanish blood, turquoise, and terracotta hues, for the New Mexico indigenous blood, and both deep blue shadows and light blue highlights are proudly representing her first-generation Angelino status.
The reflection of each parent can be seen in the subjects’ eyes. The left being a distinct silhouette of her father, while the right side is a blurred more emotional depiction of her mother.