A Very Anxious Feeling: Voices of Unrest in the American Experience - Catalog - Page 31
ALINA PEREZ
Recently, we have all been asked to face ourselves and our
past behaviors. Now is the time to turn the lens back onto
ourselves, and those we call family.
Regardless of societal or peer expectations, the most radical
thing we can do is be our authentic selves—and only through
this way of being, can change happen. I believe the retelling
and reimagination of painful, even shameful, memories and
stories will aid in the creation of images which speak to what
the future can be.
As artists, we create the stories and images which disrupt
societal norms, allow for creative and inventive thinking, and
showcase new perspectives—often revealing harsh truths. My
drawings are an opportunity for me to deconstruct and rewrite
familial beliefs, biases, and abuse—a way to break generational
patterns, rather than to subconsciously reenact them. The
figures within my drawings are sentient, living, and constantly
evolving, making moves, changing, and offering up their own
modes of authenticity that transcend any predetermined
stereotypes.
I find freedom and power through drawing. I believe art has
the ability to show us the possibilities of worlds where no one
has to live through the exhaustion of having to constantly
defend themselves, be on guard, or relentlessly attempt to
validate their existence. Tenderness, stillness, and selfreflection are at the root of both my practice and the way I
carry myself in this world. By showcasing these moments of
pause and reflection, myself as an artist, the figures I depict,
and the viewer are allowed to coexist, and look both outside
and within ourselves, with mutual respect.
Our humanity is dependent on one another’s accountability,
willingness to change, grow, and ultimately Love.
Alina Perez in her studio, 2018
Alina Perez, Tío Robert, 2019, charcoal and acrylic on paper
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