Juan Lopez-Bautista

I am approaching the landscape between the U.S.A. and Mexico as a human ecosystem. In my current works, I am exploring the visual imagery of the immigrant’s remnants in the landscape. I use photographs of the U.S.A./ Mexico border that came from journalists, news, websites, and groups for and against immigrants. These photographs show the remains from a journey and the residual of a long and sometimes deadly crossing. These objects are visual stimulants for their variety of shapes and colors. Although the objects appear faded after being exposed for weeks or months to the desert sunlight, they still vividly contrast with the arid and inhospitable environment. These objects found in the landscape are an opportunity for me to create abstractions.

In my painting processes, I challenge myself to arrive at the poetics of in-betweenness amid the abstraction process and the human presence. In my work, pictorial elements are used as visual tools to engage an empathetic dialogue with the viewer on current immigration issues. I envision my artworks as social settings, where issues of race, survival, resilience, and hope, occupy the same pictorial space.