Reflection

Reflection

My piece Fruit Fields is a view of nature through the lens of generational knowledge. As a Latina I want to highlight some of the struggles in my community. For decades nature held an essential part of Hispanic culture often as natural remedies or food recipes that bring people together. However more recently as more Hispanics immigrate to the US, the only available jobs for them are as field workers. This has caused a shift in the effect of nature in Hispanic communities. Nature is no longer a remedy, it’s a job, a reminder of a cycle of never ending work that many can’t escape. Along with the addition of pesticides, many of these farm workers work in poor, unescapable conditions. My piece highlights the rift between work and education that nature has caused for many Hispanic families. I learned that the minimum age for working in the field is 12 years old, thus many young children have to choose between working or school. My artwork depicts a boy holding a drawing of a school to represent the contrast between dreams and reality. The school’s red roof is a parallel to the boy’s red cap. The background of my artwork is a representation of the different lenses between childhood and adulthood. The cooler part of the background represents a child’s perspective, showing a vibrant and clean environment. The sun rays represent the reality of the working conditions from mature eyes. Air pollution, molding fruit, and warmer hues show how working on the farms is bad for farmworkers' health especially with the use of pesticides. No longer is nature viewed as a natural medicine, it's become something dangerous. Being creative allows me to have a voice without words. I chose acrylic paint because it’s a medium I am most comfortable with.