Family Mapping
Alternative Process Photography | 5 x 7 in. Cyanotypes
My family and search for self-identity have been my greatest influences in the creation of my art. Once everyone reaches a certain age I think we start to ask ourselves questions about who we are; questions like, “What defines me?” “How do I define myself?” and “Who am I?”. In the search for the answer to these questions, every time I’ve been led back to my roots, which would be my family and my heritage. The people who raise us and who we grow up with play a big part in who we become as adults. Because of this I've decided to begin answering
the questions of identity by photographing my family. My parents moved to the United States from Mexico about 25 years ago. Ever since we were very young my brother and I have been moved from city to city, and now that we are both in college, we, on our own, have again decided to move to different cities. My entire life my dad has been traveling for work; he is truck driver and works in all 48 states. This constant moving and distance has been a persistent theme in my life and something that affects families and relationships. In order to explore this I've decided to print images of my family members onto maps using the cyanotype printing process.