1 Experience art in Roswell.
Mexican folklore, pop culture, food, and family history inspire striking prints and drawings by Juana Estrada Hernández, a Mexican American who focuses her creative powers toward telling stories about Latinx communities. Her first solo exhibit, Las semillas, el sol, y los que sacron a delante/ The seeds, the sun, and those that brought me forward, opens at the Roswell Museum with a reception and artist talk Friday from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
As a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient, Estrada Hernández has first-hand experience of the tenuous existence many first-generation immigrants in America live within. “The show has to do with her identity, and her own experiences,” says Aaron Wilder, curator of collections and exhibitions at the Roswell Museum. “It was really important to Juana to celebrate her identity. There is a playfulness to her work.”
The exhibit includes 12 works, two of which are large-scale pieces that Estrada Hernández extended beyond their frames, creating murals on the museum’s walls. Another piece is a handmade paleta cart with woodblock carvings that can be inked to create prints. (It will also be filled with paletas at the opening.) Many of Estrada Hernández’s works include handwritten notes, including ¡Nopalaso en Nombre de Nuestras Familias! Nopalazo on Behalf of Our Families, which includes instructions for individuals when immigration agents show up at their homes. Written in Spanish, the piece is meant to be seen differently depending on the gaze of its viewer.
