Cali Torres

Beyond the Coastline, 2026

Beyond the Coastline is a mixed-media collage on canvas that shows the San Diego I experience, not just the beach-town version people see online.  I combine my own documentary photos with materials I’ve collected from around the city, like paper, sand, fabric, and printed images.  Instead of making one clear image, I layer everything together so it builds over time, reflecting San Diego, a multi-layered and lived in place. 

This project builds on my background in photography and documentary filmmaking, but pushes it further by working with collage and physical materials.  I’ve been experimenting with how layering images and textures can tell a more honest and complex story about a place and the human experiences that coexist within it.  My work is also influenced by artists like Theaster Gates, Mark Bradford, and Carmen Winant, who explore similar ideas of community, material, and lived experience.

Using real materials from the city alongside the photographs makes the piece feel more connected to the places it represents.  The large canvas allows viewers to get close and notice small details, but also step back and see the full picture.  Overall, I want people to rethink how they see familiar places and take more notice of the everyday moments that are often overlooked.

About the Artist

My creative practice focuses on photography, filmmaking, and mixed-media work that explores place, identity, and community.  I’m interested in how environments shape the people who live in them and how those everyday experiences can be very different from the way places are usually portrayed.  A lot of my work looks at San Diego as a layered and lived-in environment rather than just a tourist beach town.

Living in San Diego has made me aware of the contrast between what the city is actually like for the people who live here and the simplified version that people from the outside often see.  Representing these everyday experiences is important to me because places are often reduced to stereotypes, and I want to highlight the complexity of everyday life that exists beyond those images.  Through documentary photography and film, I try to capture small details and moments that show a more realistic and complex version of a place.  These observations help me think about how environment and community play a role in shaping identity.

My background in documentary filmmaking influences how I observe and film real spaces, paying attention to context and everyday details that might otherwise go unnoticed. Recently, I’ve also started experimenting with mixed-media and collage by combining photographs with physical materials and textures.  This approach connects to my interest in how cities and identities are built over time through layers of experience.  Artists like Theaster Gates, Mark Bradford, and Carmen Winant have influenced how I think about collage, materials, and work that connects to community.

Overall, I make work that encourages people to look more closely at places they might think they already understand.  I want to connect with people who live in these environments or who may not often see their everyday experiences represented in art.  By focusing on everyday environments and overlooked details, I hope to show a more layered view of the communities and experiences that exist within them.