Memory Thread, 2022

This artist book examines my relationship to the archive. I have always expected the archive to hold answers about my ancestry and by extension myself. My physical archive consists primarily of my mom’s photographs. My mom immigrated to the United States from El Salvador as a child and grew up in the San Gabriel Valley in the late 80’s.

Memory Thread is split into three parts: in the first part, I grapple with the concept of the archive & more largely memory. How do I hold ancestry in my body in a way that may not manifest physically? How can I write myself into the archive?

In the second part, I begin the archival process by organizing my mom’s memorabilia from her teenagehood. I then adopt a documentarian lens, comparing my archive with hers.

In the last part, I explore the faked archive. I forge historical documents alongside texts to think about the politics of the archive. Where am I from if I don't have proof? I am attempting my own mythmaking. These myths hide nothing; they only function to distort, not to disappear.

This project was generously funded by the California Arts Council.

An excerpt from Memory Thread was also displayed as part of Illuminate LA, Collective Memory Installation at Grand Park in Los Angeles, CA.