¡Bip Bip!

Using the American car as a jumping off point, my work investigates its role in society as a symbol of class and luxury. Cars are synonymous with America, they consume vast resources–often obtained through imperialistic practices–while also being one of the leading causes of death.

But the car central to my work cannot be farther from the sleek and glossy cars advertised to us ad-nauseam. My compact Honda Civic, Guadalupe, is far from perfect: her A/C is broken, her seats are stained, and she needs repairs. Yet, I’ve become my adult self in her interior. I’ve decorated Guadalupe with countless bumper stickers, and hung pink fuzzy dice from her rear view mirror. In my work, Guadalupe embodies the way marginalized communities engage with hegemonic symbols. I paint Guadalupe over and over again, in an attempt to demonstrate how minority cultures can reclaim and redefine oppressive symbols by transforming them into sites of personal expression.

Installed as a part of the 2025 VCUarts MFA Thesis Exhibition exhibited in The Institute for Contemporary Art at VCU. Curated by Misa Jeffereis (Associate Curator, Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis), Egbert Vongmalaithong (Assistant Curator, ICA at VCU), and Chase Westfall (Head of Gallery and Exhibitions, VCUarts Qatar), the 2025 exhibition reveals a cross-section of emergent practices that are rooted in collaboration, experimentation, and the urgency to make meaning in an ever-changing world.