Letters From My Exile at Staten Island Arts

"Letters from My Exile" is a project that pairs portraits and letters telling the story of people who have migrated in their quest for a better life. These letters, addressed to family members, talk about forced family separation and feelings of distance and loss, as well as the accomplishments experienced by immigrants. The project explores the concept of family through distance, memory, and absences by forced family separations caused by immigration policies.

The printed photographs are transferred to canvas using the acrylic lift transfer process. This process also becomes part of the concept by revealing the act of migration itself.  The images' transfer from one medium to another serves as a metaphor for the process of individuals migrating from one place to another. The final image endures many changes, as does one individual moving to a different country.

When migration is discussed in contemporary political news, people are seen as percentages, statistics, and policies. "Letters from My Exile" offers a personal alternative to the representation of migration in the mass media.

I am interested in exploring the stories of migrations through personal letters written to family members, as a testimony of the distance and absences and how to maintain strong relationships.

The project is supported by a grant from Staten Island Arts and in collaboration with Make the Road NY.

Installation at Staten Island Arts supported ny NY Council of The Arts