This past Spring 2014, I had my Thesis show for my BFA in Photography at Texas State. A lot of preparation happened for me to accomplish this big project that I hold very dear to my heart.
You can view La Linea Que Nos Une || The Line That Unites Us here.
This project started based of a project I did for my Advanced Digital class called De Este Lado Tambien Hay Suenos (Dreams Live Here Too), which you can check out here.
During this project, I traveled back home to Ciudad Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, TX. And I started taking photos of my two hometowns. I always thought that my life growing up was pretty ordinary, it wasn't until I moved away when I was 16, that I realized that growing up in the border is pretty amazing. I was bicultural, I had two countries to call home, and I had the opportunity to learn two languages thanks to my parents making the decision of raising me and my sisters with all the opportunities that we could have.
After I completed De Este Lado Tambien Hay Suenos (Dreams Live Here Too), I knew that I wanted to keep doing work about the border of the United States and Mexico. Mixing my passion for portraiture, I knew that I wanted to involve other people that grew up in a similar situation that I did and the people that have experienced the "Border Culture".
After a series of interviews recorded in my living room, and portraits taken. I managed to capture different people that had grown up, or lived in different border cities, and I was able to capture stories, and memories from all these wonderful people that participated.
Fronterizos
After having worked on this project since Thesis I during Fall 2013, I knew that I wanted to continue with it, and bring it to life for my Thesis show.
A lot of hard work was done, hardly any sleep all semester, and I could have never been able to accomplish it without my parents, especially my father, that ended up being one of my subjects and one of the final three videos chosen for the show.
This is him during the interview
Besides being part of my thesis, he helped me along with one of my classmates and friends Taylor Williams (who was also working in his thesis this semester, and also used the walls the next week for his thesis.) build the walls where my videos would be projected.
At the end, the show looked even better from what I had imagined, and I couldn't have made it possible without my parents, my amazing roommates, my friends, and my professors that guided me and counseled me throughout the year. So thanks again!
Installation Photos of La Linea Que Nos Une || The Line That Unites Us
You can view La Linea Que Nos Une || The Line That Unites Us here.
