Date of Award

2-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art

Department

Art

First Reader/Committee Chair

Jilek, CJ

Abstract

Raíces Salvadoreñas, Sueños Americanos (Salvadoran Roots, American Dreams) is an interdisciplinary body of work that navigates the common threads between identity, memory, and heritage through an intimate and layered approach. Rooted in personal experience, the work is deeply informed by my identity as the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, shaped equally by the cultural richness of El Salvador and the complexities of growing up in the United States. Through ceramics, installation, found objects, and video, I translate familial stories and cultural practices into tangible forms objects and environments that embody both vulnerability and resilience.

This work is an homage to the sacrifices and strength of my family, whose journey across borders carries both pain and promise. My practice centers around visual storytelling, drawing from personal memory and generational knowledge to build narratives that speak to the broader diasporic experience. By embracing my bicultural identity, I use art as a tool to reflect on what it means to exist in the “in-between” a space where languages, customs, and histories merge, conflict, and evolve.

Ceramics play a foundational role in my work, not just as a material but as a metaphor. The clay holds memory, each vessel a container of inherited wisdom, domestic rituals, and cultural symbolism. I intentionally incorporate Salvadoran motifs and traditional forms such as the cántaro, alongside imagery and patterns drawn from everyday life, to underscore the continuity of cultural practices despite displacement. These ceramic objects are often paired with found materials or integrated into immersive installations that invite viewers to step into reimagined domestic or communal spaces.

Video projection becomes another vessel, layering movement and sound onto physical forms to further activate memory and emotion. Whether it’s documentation of my mother and grandmother retrieving water in a rural Salvadoran town, or projected narratives exploring themes of migration and cultural preservation, the moving image allows me to create sensory portals into lived and shared experiences.

At the heart of Raíces Salvadoreñas, Sueños Americanos is a desire to preserve, honor, and recontextualize Salvadoran cultural identity within a contemporary framework. The installations serve as both personal archive and communal altar, spaces of reflection where private histories are made visible and validated. Through this work, I aim to spark dialogue around migration, cultural appreciation versus appropriation, and the importance of intergenerational knowledge. It is a celebration of those who came before me, and a recognition of the dreams they carried and passed on.

Ultimately, this project is about connection between past and present, between the personal and the political, and between individuals whose stories, though distinct, may echo one another in powerful ways. In bridging my Salvadoran roots and American dreams, I create a space where belonging is not confined to one place, but is shaped by the journey and the stories we choose to carry forward.

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