A Matter of Survival: Mariana Castro De Ali
Mariana Castro de Ali"Immigration is a matter of survival" is the message in Mariana C. De Ali's latest artistic pieces. The basic message in the upcoming exhibit of her works at the Union Hall Gallery in Sacramento is that "migratory birds travel thousands of mile for the same reasons as do Punjabis, Mexicans, Afghanis, Vietnamese, [Zimbabweans], and any other group of immigrants" who work for survival.
Mariana uses bird migrations as a metaphor for the ordeal these immigrants face daily. Whether they are being hunted by corporations and governments, or by mortgages, debt, unemployment, lack of social services and underfunded retirement plans, people will do what it takes to survive.
In this show Mariana utilizes canvas, prints, sales receipts and price tags as an artistic medium. She couples traditional and contemporary artforms in a collage of geese, ducks, swans and human portraits to represent the struggle of people in general, and immigrants in particular.
The opening reception for this exhibit is on March 14 from 6 to 9 pm at the Union Hall Gallery, 2126 K street, Sacramento, California.
Mariana describes her art as follows:
"I use multimedia in my art exhibitions including audio and video. My art has been somewhat provocative, raw, edgy, and visceral. Through my work I intend to give voice to immigrants, minorities and people suffering from different maladies. I seek inspiration from within daily mundane routines. I use common elements of everyday life such us coffee filters, tea bags, threads, tampons, and common conversations. I enjoy the juxtaposition of opposite elements such us the sacred and the profane, the inspiring and the debilitating, the kitsch and the chaste, the obvious and the ambiguous"
photo by Muhammad Ali
Comments
Like many of them, his dream at the time was to jump ship and try his luck in America - at a time when the country still felt hungry for new blood and new skills.
My mother has told me about the heady mix of cultures she encountered there,
about people from all corners of the human Universe sharing the dream of being American, of being washed clean in the promise of new posibilities.
She says what a shame it is that this spirit seems to have been lost - and at a time when the world seems to be looking so desperately for reinvention... for synthesis...
like the plumage of an exotic new bird wading across your shoreline with the cry of new ideas.