Madera Picado

Papel Picado is a Mexican Folk Art of cutting decorative paper into cut designs that are then displayed as brightly colored banners. I fashion the Madera (wood) Picado series by this historic practice. The cut design of Papel Picado is incomplete or altered and filled with European textile designs or “American” imagery. Juxtaposing cultural and historical references creates a surface where craft and cultural hierarchy exist on the same field, and interrupts perceptions of value and cultural inequality. With a celebratory color palette and detailed craft, I play with power of memory to fracture long-standing notions of identity.