Presença - We are here.

Presença is a project I’ve been working on with my teacher Aline Brant’s guidance during the summer of 2022 using 16x20 photos I took on my iPhone over the times I’ve been to DC to advocate for immigrants’ rights. I didn’t see much of an impact from the times I self-funded these trips, and I was starting to wonder what was even the point. But I still had these pictures. I wanted to put them to use somehow, like a redemption of my “DREAMer” era. I chose to interrupt these colorful and black & white images of places of power with pink thread. The goal is to depict a disruptive, transformative immigrant presence in this country, yes, even in these spaces. The pink reminds me of gum—something that usually doesn’t belong in nature, stuck to buildings. Gum is usually used up then thrown away—a feeling I feel reflects the way immigrants are treated in this country. I wanted to use what I had: these iPhone photos, thread & needle, and my ability to embroider. In the end, I gave a lot of my time to this project, to staring at this country’s monuments to power. But, in the end, I made it all mine. Ours, even in this small way. We are here.