Salma Hernandez

“America is White and Black and Latino and Asian. America is immigrants.” - Jose Antonio Vargas

Vargas is a journalist, filmmaker, and immigration rights activist. He founded a nonprofit organization called Define American, a leading voice for the human rights of undocumented immigrants. In 2011 the New York Times published an essay by Vargas where he disclosed his life as an undocumented immigrant.

My artwork is a critical view of social, political, and cultural issues in the United States. I referenced my Latin American heritage and upbringing to depict the hardships of undocumented aliens in the United States. I portrayed my experiences growing up in the United States as an undocumented immigrant. I used variety of processes such as intaglio, photolitho, linocut, and collage to illustrate these topics. Intaglio allowed me to get finer details and a variation of grays. Linocut gave me a more distinct style and contrast. I collaged my work to better help with the integration of colors. Main colors in my works are red, white, and blue. These three colors are easily distinguishable as being American because of the U.S. flag. Also used a variety of vibrant colors that I pulled from my Hispanic ancestry. Works such as Coyote, The Dreamer, and Madre y Hija use iconography to help represent my culture. Purpose of these works is to shed light on these issues and how illegal immigrants deal with them.