Amor Eterno

Entitled “Love Eternal”

Growing up as a Mexican-American woman, there have always been instances where my cultures clashed. I would not learn until recently that grief and the processing of said grief was where my cultures truly clashed the most. Over the course of a year and six months I have lost a total of five family members, some of which occurring within the same day. I was forced to undergo the processing of grief over and over again, and while this is a difficult task for any person to face, it was more so difficult for me as either culture I identified with dictates very different ways of coping with loss. Within Mexican culture, death is viewed as a celebration of life, however, the mourning process is much shorter. You’re not meant to cry or show emotion in public, and in some areas of Mexico, you are not allowed to listen to music, go dancing, and are required to wear black for an entire year. American culture teaches a more open and extended grieving process, public displays of emotion are more acceptable, and grief counseling is far more effective and straightforward.

Amor Eterno explores how Mexican-Americans are in a league of their own when it comes to the grieving process, and explains the constant internal struggle there lies in terms of processing grief, all while using my personal experience as an example. Amor Eterno consists of five digital prints (one for each of my loved ones), and contains a mix of Spanish and English text as well as common funerary flowers from either culture to express the clashing of grief cultures.

Created using Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator