Since I can remember, I have been an immigrant or an outsider. Having experienced cultural dislocation at an early age, and watching the way it impacted my family has forever marked me. I do not think of myself as an American, Colombian or Venezuelan, my community is global.

Home is something that is portable and has nothing to do with a piece of land. Objects that commemorate and are cultural markers are then very important through out my work. This use of objects can be seen in the "Stranger's Luggage" painting series as well as in the "Containers" and "Home Artifacts" sculpture series.

Immigration agencies that make-up labels like Latino, Hispanic, Asian, Pacific Islander, etc. in the name of security, bring up an intense anxiety for me that is as much political as it is intimately personal. The fascinating side of identity is that it is always evolving, not fixed, but completely temporal. Time will always add different dimensions to people, cities and stories. This is why a label like Latino can become offensive if it is thrust on to you to describe who you are. Why should I use a label that erodes my sense of self?

I do not share the experience of risking my life walking through a desert or crossing an ocean looking for work or a different life. However, I find it impossible not to think about these stories and realities as I am making work today. In my current painting series, "Not Here or There / Ni Aquí Ni Allá", the spaces represented do not exist but are metaphors and devices for thought.

My practice is a meditation on transformation and fairness driven by a deep curiosity about others.