HIJA DE FLORES / DAUGHTER OF FLOWERS, 2024

Hija de flores / Daughter of flowers, 2024, resin with plant matter and extracted DNA from mint, chamomile, and hibiscus.

Hija de flores / Daughter of flowers is an installation composed of floral DNA representations that investigate the concept of botanical wisdom, or the practice of slowly unearthing bits of inherited knowledge that have been passed down generations of women as tools for healing and survival.

ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE, 2023

anywhere and everywhere, 2023, maize, rocking chair, garden lights, audio, performance

anywhere and everywhere pays homage to the people of Lockhart, Texas. This site-specific installation explores notions of home and place by following the family history of Lockhart native, Connie S. Amaya, as she shares anecdotes about growing up in the Tank Town neighborhood.

She recalls working in the fields with her mother and six siblings picking cotton and bundling broom corn (or “la escoba”); walking over to Tank Town, at that time a pork processing factory, to purchase chicharrones and manteca; and witnessing the various local neighborhoods she has lived in transform over the past six decades.

These intimate autobiographical spoken vignettes serve as a soundtrack to a performance piece in which the artist grinds maize, one of the grains processed in the silos, by swaying back and forth over it with a rocking chair. The stories shared reveal how the trajectory of one family is directly and inextricably interwoven with the ever-changing landscape of their hometown. Gardens become a space for community and storytelling; farm fields get developed and serve as visual reminders of time passed. Meanwhile, people continue to move through the land—anywhere and everywhere—to survive.

View performance here.

 

CUERPOS HECHOS DE FLORES / BODIES MADE OF FLOWERS, 2022

hibiscus dust

whole hibiscus flower

same sweet scent to remember by grandmothers by

Cuerpos hechos de flores / Bodies made of flowers serves as an homage to the matriarchs of my lineage, who gathered our entire family by the simple act of existing. Two rectangles in the shape of their gravesites transport me to Jardín de los Recuerdos, the cemetery in Mexico City where they wait for me buried and the portal through which I communicate with them by decorating their tombs with flowers.

These works investigate the concept of botanical wisdom, or those teachings about the medicinal properties of plants that are passed down by generations of women who, bit by bit, gift us the tools necessary for survival.

Part of Yo trabajo con la tierra / I work with the earth, curated by Paloma Mayorga at Big Medium.

 

DAME Y TE DOY, 2021

dame y te doy (give me and I give back), 2021. Aluminum prints and ink on paper.

Installation part of Future Front Texas Residency at The LINE Austin. Austin, Texas.

 

ON TRUTH AND HEALING, 2018

On Truth and Healing, 2018. Collaboration between D. Vera Claeys & Paloma Mayorga. Hand-dyed rag paper infused with herbs, essential oils, & audio.

Installation part of Natural Forces, Hive Arts Collective, at the Museum of Human Achievement, Austin, Texas.

Listen to the accompanying audio here.

 

DE ELLA, 2017

Para mamár de ella, hay que amarla a ella (To nurture from her, we must love her), 2017. Digital Chromogenic print, corn masa, hominy, potting soil & nylon.

Installation part of De La Tierra, Curated by Michael Anthony Garcia at Texas State University Gallery. San Marcos, Texas.

 

HERS/HIS, 2016

Hers/His, 2016. Lipstick, oil & wax on velum.

Installation part of Solo mía, Solo Exhibition at The Sarofim School of Fine Arts, Southwestern University, Georgetown, Texas.