Jenn Mogollan

Artist Statement

My current work centers around my mother, whose life and relationships have been shaped by her legal status, and her inability to be present with the family. I am currently creating “what if” portraits depicting her past and her present as they might have been if not for her immigration status. I create portraits that include her, event though she wasn’t physically in them. I think of all the moments my mother missed with her family, and with me, over the years. I make these portraits trying to give her a sense of belonging and to give myself closure. Through oil paintings, I question the importance of paper documentation. A piece of paper has become so important that without it, a hard-working person looking for a better life can be labeled a criminal. A piece of paper limits opportunities and separates families like my own. When looking at these paintings along with the original photos, I hope that viewers will question why my mother is part of the painting, but not part of the photo, and how a piece of paper becomes a man-made border keeping my mother from her family.

I also use jewelry to explore, describe, and build my relationship with my mother. Even across our great distance, she is teaching me techniques for making jewelry that has been passed down through our family and which I hope I can pass on to my children someday. This process brings new material connection to our relationship, as the work lives in the past and present, and depicts our family over generations and over borders.