Mi pelo largo cuenta una historia, que nunca entenderé

As a brown-skinned child, I was filled with self-deprivation. The imagery of the work is based on my Mexican-American upbringings. The lens based work shows how I’ve learned to grow to love my brown body and long black hair by creating self-portraits in an intimate and powerful way. I draw from my negative experiences because I want these photos to be culturally and visibly accessible in a new light. From one side, I’m utilizing my body to connect with my femininity which I’m not in touch with as much as my family would like. The other side, I want to pay homage to my abuelitas that were shamed for these features and stripped from their identity. I’m still learning how to be gentle towards my body and features but looking back on it, I can now say that I love my sun kissed skin.