Emily Castro

Media Arts & Sciences and American Studies major

I am a multimedia artist from Hollywood, living between Los Angeles and Massachusetts while attending Wellesley College. Drawing is my foundation, and my practice has since expanded to include digital design. However, my senior project--produced under an independent study--diverges from previous mediums to work with a photographic printing process (cyanotype) on fabric. My study of a new medium is inspired by archival work, and preservation of immigrant family history through reproductions of dispersed photographs. For this piece, I draw from my American Studies background, and lived experience as a daughter of immigrants to inform themes of borders and cultural identity in my artwork. Outside the studio, I enjoy watching films at local vintage theaters.

Porque, Because

cyanotype on fabric

Jewett Hallway Galleries

These photo fabric images depict two sides of a Guatemalan family across generations and borders. This project reflects on what it means to immigrate, from living in ancestral homelands in areas with strong Indigenous influence, to living in Los Angeles and adopting a Latine culture.

The original photographs remain in the possession of different family members; their reproduction creates a tangible archive from digital copies, uniting images otherwise separated by distance. This collection asks: How is culture carried, and by whom? What is passed down? Who and what gets to be remembered?

My senior project is dedicated to all immigrant, undocumented, mixed-status families, and the Guatemalan diaspora.

On my shelf

assemblage, found objects, collaboration with Unknown Artisans

Jewett Hallway Galleries

Apple of my eye

plaster, paint

PNW Bridge

to see more work by Emily: portfolio

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