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Si tu dudas del amor que yo te tengo, por favor de ella no dudes, ella es una personita bien linda y no tiene todavía la maldad de echar mentiras. Ella te quiere mucho. / Even if you doubt the love that I have for you, please don’t ever doubt hers. She is a beautiful little person and she doesn’t yet have the evil in her to lie. She loves you so much., 2023
Copperplate photogravure and soft ground etching with embroidery on silk. Sheet: 25 3/4 x 37 inches. Edition of 6 + proofs. Published by Mullowney Printing, Portland, OR.
About this work:
Arleene Correa Valencia’s photogravure series, Antes De Mi / Before Me (2023), delves into the artist’s exploration of family separation and migration across borders. Through this series, Valencia attempts to trace her family’s history, starting from the union of her paternal grandparents, who now play a significant role in the artist’s connection to her native heritage. Each photogravure unveils a part of her family’s story that ultimately led to her migration to the United States, where she faced the hardships of being an undocumented immigrant. Growing up as an undocumented recipient of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Correa Valencia observed that much of her family’s past had been lost or erased to facilitate assimilation and protect them from being identified as “illegal.” This series combines etchings of traditional Mexican images, family photos, embroidery, and beading, weaving together stories spanning multiple generations. These pieces aim to illustrate a family’s resilience amid the political unrest between the United States and Latin America.
