/artandarthistory/javier-padilla

Statement
I create installations and performances that investigate the construction of identity in contemporary and historical American contexts. I employ nontraditional materials in rituals inspired by catholic traditions and imagery to tie my work to my experiences. I am a queer artist born to a family including undocumented Mexican migrants. My personal experience with these identities is one characterized by hiding or masking various parts of my personal history for assimilation or protection. I create artwork that deconstructs my own intersectional identity and investigates the legibility of my identity to my family, my community and the state.