In summer of 1983, my family and I left Peru with an ache in the heart that never healed.
I renamed the departure: exile.
Starting from this experience, I have worked most of the time, using my body as a blank
canvas to be transformed into a new image that reveals only after careful observation, addressing issues of migration, belonging, “the other,” and adjustment.
The body is being used as an object of ritual. The "ground" I camouflage in, have relation with the places I have lived.
The fact of being almost invisible talks about the long process of adaptation.

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Editorial Notes

Migration in Latin America is one of the region's biggest issues affecting economic opportunities, national growth, identity, and culture. Immigrants make up 10 percent of the greater Costa Rican population. Men and women frequently migrate within Latin America or to the United States or Spain, sending back remittances to their home country to support their family. In other instances, families in conflict countries such as Nicaragua or Colombia migrate to escape violence or natural disaster or to search for more stable economic opportunities.

About the Artist

To learn more about Cecilia Paredes' work, visit ceciliaparedes.com.