Alondra Casarin-Limon
My art is something deeply personal and has evolved alongside me over time. What began as a hobby grew into a small business, and most recently into a medium for my art pieces. Crochet is my outlet and form of expression, serving as a means to navigate and process complex emotions, especially during times of uncertainty, much like how I felt at the beginning of this process.
This two-piece work offers a narrative of the complex reality of living in a country I call home, though it is neither my birthplace nor my original homeland. Transitioning first to the Mexico side, the piece explores the intricacies of identity shaped by what my parents have taught me, the perceptions of others, and my own self-understanding. This side is rendered with vibrant colors, much like the memories of my childhood with my sisters and family. Yet, these memories are blurred, seeing it through the lenses of my parents’ stories, family photographs, and the hazy recollections of a young Alondra. The piece features a landmark from Veracruz, where much of my family resides, with the horizon of a clear beach beneath a vivid, cloud-streaked sky.
In contrast, the Indiana side offers a more defined perspective, reflecting the viewpoint of an older Alondra. Raised in this place since infancy, I am intimately familiar with its landscape, perhaps more so than with the land I am expected to call home. The imagery here is sharper but less vibrant, signifying how reality loses its dreamlike quality as we grow. This side features a cityscape characterized by the muted tones of capitalism, where the only existing water is in a man-made canal. Yet, there is an understated beauty in the geometric forms and architectural details, echoing how even constructed environments can possess their own allure, much like the everyday realities many of us inhabit.
The two pieces are tied together and made sense of by a mini Alondra, much like how only an individual can depict their identity and not others around them.
I hope viewers find reflections of themselves in this work. Whether in the process of moving beyond what they learned from their parents to forge their own paths, leaving behind stories and fantasies as a separate act of self-realization, or in recognizing the complex, layered identities that many immigrants and children of immigrants experience.
