Fachadas: Narrativas arquitectónicas de tiempo y pertenencia
Fachadas Series Continued: Argentina Residency
Northwest Vista College, San Antonio, TX
January 21 - March 14, 2025
My work is inspired by 19th- and early 20th-century facades in Argentina, where time has left its mark on both deteriorating and pristine surfaces. I am drawn to the layered histories embedded within these architectural elements—each crack, peel, and preserved detail revealing stories of former grandeur. I am captivated by the intricate textures, hidden layers, and a rich history shaped by cultural influences and the passage of time.
Facades of homes, in particular, resonate with me. A home is more than just a structure; it is a marker of place, identity, and belonging. The exterior reveals something about the people who inhabit it, the history it holds, and the community it defines. For me, Argentina is both familiar and distant—a place I’ve only known through stories. Exploring these facades serves as a way for me to connect with a country I’ve never been to, but that holds half of my ancestry.
In my exploration of traditional weaving techniques, I reimagine the process, experimenting with unconventional methods of intersecting yarn. This allows me to investigate new ways of wrapping and entwining fibers, much like the fragmented layers of a weathered facade.
During my travels across Argentina, I observed a variety of architectural surfaces, each with its own distinct style and color palette. Initially, I used a simple weaving technique for my tapestries, referencing these facades as a starting point. These works focused on the interplay of texture and decay, using woven fibers to mirror the weathered surfaces and layered histories I encountered.
When I returned to New York, I sought to continue the series but with a shift in both scale and technique, adopting tufting as my primary method. The change allowed me to expand the scope of my work while maintaining the essence of the plain weave look. Revisiting the photographs I had taken in Argentina, I deepened my exploration of not just the architecture and its visible decay, but also the graffiti that adorned many of these facades. I was particularly drawn to spray-painted text, discovering phrases that resonated deeply with me and connected to the broader themes of identity, history, and belonging.
Another element of these structures was their shutters, often concealing windows and creating a sense of fortification. Each home, built like a fortress, revealed layers of protection that fascinated me. Observing the varying states of decay, I began to see parallels between the facades and the human body—both subject to the inevitability of deterioration over time. This connection between home and self became a central theme in my work, inviting reflections on the passage of time and the interplay of vulnerability and resilience.
Each tapestry in this series is accompanied by an abstract representation of a shutter, crafted from wood. These elements create a tactile and conceptual bridge between the tapestry as a facade and the idea of concealment and protection. Through this series, I continue to explore my connection to Argentina and its layered histories, using architectural surfaces as an entry point to engage with themes that are both deeply personal and universal.
The image on the left represents the second iteration of the initial installation that took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
In this iteration, the design has been expanded to reflect more of the city grid of La Plata. By integrating aspects of La Plata's layout and features into the installation, it creates a dialogue between the original concept and the distinctive characteristics of this new context.