Portrait of the artist as La Virgen De Guadalupe

The artwork by Yolanda Lopez is astounding, her use of religious imagery mixed with feminist iconography  brings together the symbolism of La Virgen as a quiet sufferer into the modern era where instead of being a bearer of hardships the image is now replaced by one of forwarding movement and advancement. Specifically speaking on her trio of works that use La Virgen De Guadalupe and replace the physical Virgen with the artist's Grandmother, mother and herself. Her portraits tell the story of sacrifice as her grandmother and mother are stationary as they sit stationary. Her grandmother sits on the Virgen Shawl symbolizing the sacrifice made by her for her family. Similarly, the portrait of her mother sees her mother sewing the shawl her grandmother had in the previous portrait, and it is not until we see the portrait of the artist that we understand why she is sewing. The final picture sees the artist in motion, carrying the shawl around her and smiling. Additionally, she is carrying a snake by its neck, a well known Mexican symbol, the importance of which symbolizes the carrying of the Mexican heritage into contemporary times through a much more feminist lense.