April D. Felipe
Away Forward, 2017
Mixed media
12h x 14w x 1/2d in
$650
ADF002
or Inquire
April D. Felipe
In the Flood We Hope Not to Drown, 2018
Mixed media
25 1/2h x 17 1/2w x 1d in
$2,500
ADF004
or Inquire
April D. Felipe
Watcher, 2, 2018
Mixed media
4 1/4h x 3w x 4 1/4d in
$300
ADF008
or Inquire
Growing up, people begin to deal with the idea of identity, not just who we are but how we place ourselves within groups beyond our families. For me, this placing became a cultural question. As my parents were from the Caribbean, I was connected to multiple cultural groups. However having grown up here in America and not fitting the visual stereotypes of my heritage, I never felt like I truly belonged to any of those cultures. I became aware that the way I presented layers of my past could be used to validate my desired place within these groups. Reflecting on my struggle, I began to question the way we construct personal history in service to our desire for belonging.
In this work the color is driven by historical floor patterns from the Caribbean. These faux tile mosaics are a product of colonialism, used as a way to showcase ones European lineage while distancing from ones African and Native lineage. However when we look at the history of these tile patterns it is reveled they are derivative Moroccan tiles. I am drawn to the fact while striving toward colonial Ideals these tiles are actually representative of our African histories.
