Ecologies of Pattern Study 3

2026, Collage with Linoleum Elements on Cotton Rag Paper

11 x 11 inches

This collage is part of a series that emerged from my identity as a Latina, daughter of Peruvian immigrants with Afro-Peruvian ancestry, raised in the United States where my cultura was largely invisible in the world around me. Growing up, I struggled to build a healthy sense of self, but I was always drawn to color. My mother, a travel agent, brought back colorful fabrics and souvenirs from her trips through Latin America, and later I encountered those same weavings and patterns firsthand in Peru.

This work is my attempt to remember those patterns while building my own visual language. Repetition and mark-making become my tools for weaving my ancestral story into new forms. Color is the language I’ve spent years mastering.