Materials: Cardboard, hot glue, artificial plants, spray paint, acrylic paint, and paint marker.
This piece is a personal exploration of identity, memory, and cultural inheritance, expressed through texture, form, and sound. Drawing from two initial conceptsâcutting slits into a cardboard surface to mimic organic textures and incorporating leaf forms that resemble eyesâI aim to create a visual language rooted in nature and personal symbolism. The slits evoke the movement and growth found in natural forms, while the eye-like leaves suggest observation, reflection, and presence. These elements work together to explore how my surroundings, past and present, shape who I am.
Being from Puerto Rico, my cultural background is central to this work. I grew up listening to my parentsâ stories about life on the islandâstories filled with emotion, resilience, and strong ties to place. To honor that connection, Iâm incorporating the sound of the coquĂ, a small native frog whose call is a defining part of Puerto Rican nights. Its sound is more than background noise; it's a symbol of home, memory, and rootedness.
By bringing together visual and auditory elements, this piece becomes an immersive experience that reflects on how identity is shaped by the environments we come from, the stories we inherit, and the natural rhythms that ground us. It is both a tribute to where I come from and a way of understanding who I am becoming.