Guadalupe

GUADALUPE is an illuminating portrait based in Light: an image of resistance rooted in the counter-power of the imagination embodying not oppression but liberation; a bridge of light between peoples, languages, cultures, and geographies, that speaks to the emancipatory potential of feminine strength, grace, and solidarity.

Our Lady of Guadalupe represents a convergence of Europe with the Americas; of Spanish Catholicism with Indigenous traditions; of the Virgin Madonna with the Earth Mother Tonantzin; of Mexico with the USA. Guadalupe has long been at the vanguard of social movements-- from the resistance to Spanish rule, to the Mexican Revolution, to the Civil Rights movement in the US, to Zapatismo in Mexico; her image continues to be carried on banners highlighting the plights of farm workers, women, undocumented immigrants, and the continued theft of lands and rights of Indigenous peoples.

I strove to create an image of Guadalupe who aesthetically embodies the majority of peoples who seek solace, comfort, & refuge in her. Unlike so many of the Anglicized images one encounters of her, my portrayal of her has Indigenous Maya features and brown skin. She is a Water Bearer— holding a gasoline Can as a symbol of Immigration: of the many immigrants who cross the desert carrying water in gasoline cans. The gasoline Can could be a vessel for the combustible fluids that ignite and fuel fires, or for the life-giving waters that put them out.

GUADALUPE is a unique digital piece scanned from the original mixed media collage and acrylic painting, which is not included in this sale, nor available.

A collaboration with the George Lopez Foundation. The mission of the George Lopez Foundation is to create positive, permanent change for underprivileged children, adults, and military families confronting challenges in education and health, as well as to increase community awareness about kidney disease and organ donation.

Each year the George Lopez Foundation holds a charity golf tournament in Los Angeles. In 2005, George Lopez suffered from kidney failure and had a successful kidney transplant. So for the past 15 years, he has organized an annual charity golf tournament to raise money for children and families struggling with kidney disease.