I am learning how to paint what I want to paint. Exploration is natural to my process. Sometimes this means creating things that seem unrelated but tied together by ideas. My current body of work lends to this scattered and explorative type of art making. The paintings and sculptures have a life of their own but are tied together by the concept of "The Feminine."

 

​Through a feminist and psychoanalytic lens, Pajara, takes the viewer through my memories and experiences that exhibit loss, trauma, isolation and resilience. 

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According to Spanish Dictionary, the slang “Pajara” refers to a crafty or sly woman. A direct translation is a female bird. The common theme that unites my body of artwork is the inclusion and or allusion of the female experience. Themes of  juxtaposing identities such as good/evil, proper/improper, European/indigenous, traditional/contemporary and ancient narratives serve as a method of self-reflection throughout the work. There is a reinvention of established Ancient, European and Indigenous stories to explain visually and subconsciously the narratives taking place in Pajara. 

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The term Pajara is fluid and it isn’t a well known slang. It is specific to the Mexican community, but can be compared to other common characters, such as the femme fatale. Psychologist Carl Jung believed that there are common female archetypes, including the archetype of the “mother.”  Jung also believed that the shadow or dark side of an individual resides in the subconscious. Christopher Perry describes this as a Jungian shadow. It is a part of ourselves that we want to repress and that we don’t accept.

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The way I create art is a form of reflection that allows me to learn about who I am as woman and a path towards my self-acceptance.