Identity and Memory︙Juan Esparza
As I have gotten older, I have started looking back on my past to understand who I am now. My reflections meditate on my lens of the world, why and how my interests frame my experiences growing up in a Mexican household.
I use animals in my work because of it many meanings. Animals serve many purposes whether religious, spiritual or for comfort. I began to realize the importance of animals relative to where I grew up, to that of my parents and grandparents’ that framed my day to day.
Los Zorrillos y El Gato, 2021
Linoleum
13.5 in x 24 in
Bear, 2021
Linoleum
10 in x 10 in
I was born in Mexico and raised in the United States but all throughout my life my parents made it a point to go back and visit as much as possible to our hometown in Jalisco. The town is small and the main way of earning a living is through agriculture; whether it be through raising livestock, raising crops or both. Every summer I would see people from all over the town tending to their animals or their crops but more specifically I would see my grandfathers work their own crop and tend to their animals.
Carcel de Ojas, 2018
Woodcut
25 in x 37 in
Carcel de Ojas (Artist Proof), 2018
Woodcut and Chine collé
25 in x 37 in
I have clear memories of spending time with my grandfathers as I would tag along with them as they tended to their animals like cows and chicken and often they would take me out to ride on their donkeys afterwards. Those memories of spending time with my grandfathers made me fall in love with the image of the donkey and always associate it with being back in Mexico. The images for my pieces are constructed from broader memories I have of my visits back home. I chose to highlight the donkey to have it be the focal point of many of the pieces.
A Rezar, 2018
Woodcut and Chine Collé
25 in x 37 in
Untitled, 2018
Ceramics
In the piece “A Rezar”, I thought of the time spent going to church and the older women that I would see praying at church. The rebozo or scarf like the one that the figure is wearing in the piece is a reference specifically to one of my grandmothers who is never without it and who has an incredibly strong connection to the church. The piece “Carcel de Ojas” is a piece specifically referencing my grandfathers. The figure in the piece is shelling the corn which is one of the last things that you do with it. Both my grandfathers raised crops so whenever I think of the act of raising corn my mind goes immediately to when I would tag along and to when I would help them in shelling the corn.
En la Calle, 2018
Woodcut
11.5 inches x 11.5 inches
In the “En la Calle”, the series of prints that's focused on the time spent in neighboring larger towns. There's reference to specific clothes that I remember being popular and the dogs that I would see everywhere I went no matter what place or time.
Untitled 2, 2018
Ceramics
About Juan Esparza
Currently based in Silver Spring Maryland, Juan was born in the city of Aguascalientes and is from the small town of Tepusco, Jalisco. His family emigrated to the United States when he was only three years old.
Retrospection is a driving force in his creative process and is inspired by his Mexican American upbringing. Through the use of printmaking and animal symbolism, he creates expressions of nostalgia from being raised in a Mexican household and traveling to and from Mexico throughout his life.
Instagram: @justjuanofakind
Related
Episode 7︙A New Lens
Today I am sitting down with Maryland based printmaker, Juan Esparza, who spoke with me about their artistic process, reclaiming Mexican stereotypes, and the struggles of representation and priveldge to peruse art.
JAN 28, 2022