Acción Latina is thrilled to welcome the talented L.A. based painter, Kiara Aileen Machado and her Diario Entrada Uno art series highlighting the struggle and resilience of Central American folx with calla lilies, worry dolls, and nature’s most hidden and underappreciated colors.
Artist’s statement:
Central America, often overlooked and criminalized in the media, is not given proper credit for its resilience and unwavering pride. This exhibition highlights critical conversations around Central American erasure and experiences dictated by identity. I pull from my own personal experiences, as I am Guatemalan and Salvadoran. Diario Entrada Uno serves as an insight to intimate thoughts, personal battles within infrastructures, institutions and experiences dictated by my identity. Recurring aspects within this new body of work is the prominent use of worry dolls and calla lilies. I use the worry dolls as stand-ins for Central American folx as the worry dolls are meant to rid one’s worries overnight. The inspiration for using calla lilies comes from their great ability to survive, even after being cut. I parallel the calla lilies’ resilience to the Central American experience of isolation and lack of proper representation of who we are. Regardless, we remain connected to our roots.
