Embodying Migration with Art: the work of Joiri Minaya and Cecilia Paredes

Alexandra Kader Herrera

Advisor: Dr. Adele Nelson

Abstract

Migration lies at the core of humankind’s collective experience since ancient times; it continues to assume a prominent role in our contemporary and global society. Many migrants turn to the arts as a way to examine, question, and comprehend their transnational identity—an identity which has been subject to the effects of dislocation brought about by migration. This research examines the work of two artists whose migratory experience influence their artist creation; these include Dominican artist Joiri Minaya and Peruvian Cecilia Paredes. More specifically, the research explores the role of embodiment as an artistic practice within the development of one’s identity as being politically or personally inclined, as observed through the overarching framework of migration. The research departs from the fact that these two artists participate in similar migratory flight patterns into the United States, where they currently reside and base their artistic practice, as well as in embodied artistic practice. However, the research continues by acknowledging and examining the differences contained within the aforementioned similarities, namely the fact that each artist comments on a different dimension of migration. On the one hand, I argue that Minaya refers more to the political and public dimensions of migration by commenting on the way migrants are publicly regarded and treated in the country, as observed with her Container #4 piece. On the other hand, I consider that Paredes alludes to the more private and personal dimensions of migration by referencing the homeland versus foreign land dichotomy that permeates much of any migrant’s life and identity, as evidenced through her Both Worlds artwork.