Nataani Hernandez

My series explores how the rigid cultural identity of my family has affected my childhood and identity. As a bicultural person I face the duality of being Latino as well as being American. Growing up, the pressures to be more like one side of my family have had me at odds as to who I really am and illuminated the divide between us. This felt isolating as my identity is not one that can be broken down into one word. I used to think I had to conform more to one side for me to feel whole but the truth is that I have to express all sides in order to fully be myself.

These pieces show how this divide has shaped my childhood to how I have begun to thrive in my journey of self development. I started my series with a depiction that shows my childhood isolation while still being able to help others. As my series evolves it turns to feelings of dread and connections with my trauma with depictions of the color bronze throughout to symbolize my true identity showing through. Colors in my pieces are really important because of how they all have their own meaning and personal connection to me and my family. Blue shows sadness and unease while red shows confidence and courage. Bright colors are really prominent in my Latino culture and that is shown throughout as well as symbols that connect with my Mayan and Aztec background. I had to do much self reflection on my past and how it all affected me, in the end I found that my identity was formed because of how my family is and when I learned to embrace it was when I felt whole again.