Week 8

The artwork that stood out the most to me was Natalia Anciso, which was presented by my classmate Joan. Natalia Anciso is a Chicana artist who primarily focuses on her experiences, growing up near the U.S.-Mexico Border. She also depicts the struggles of poverty, human trafficking and drug war. I was really impressed with her series-

Families Belong Together. It emphasized the struggle of immigrant children being separated by their families at the border. I find this issue significant especially due to Trump’s presidency. The separation of these families reached its highest numbers in 2018. I find it even more inspiring that Joan related his experience of crossing the border with this image. Even though he wasn’t separated from his family, he still understands the pain that the families had to endure. Personally, I could not imagine starting a new life anywhere without my family. I would go anywhere my parents would be taken because I am nothing without my family. Home feels like home due to the presence of my family. In the artwork, there are lines of colors while the child and parent are in black and white. The lines represent the border as it looks like there’s a wall, causing a separation. The child and parent are in black and white to make them the focus of a colored background. If you zoom in onto the faces of the families, you can see their despair. The artist wanted to emphasize the pain of the separations. I hope that 2020 is the year in which families will not be separated at the border!