When I started this piece, I didn’t just want to make something visually interesting. I wanted it to feel alive, like it was carrying something heavy. Feathers have deep meaning in Aztec culture. They were used in sacred ceremonies, worn by gods, and represented both power and fragility. That duality stuck with me. I wanted the piece to feel like a fragment of something divine and broken at the same time.

 

As someone whose family is from Mexico, this history feels close. I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what gets passed down, what gets erased, and what still lingers. With Unsettled, I’m not trying to explain colonization or tell a full story. I just want people to feel that in-between space. That mix of loss, survival, and memory that doesn’t settle.

I was also inspired by artists like Ann Hamilton, Anya Gallaccio, and Chico MacMurtrie. They use quiet movement, organic materials, and repetition in ways that really spoke to me. Their work reminded me that something can be soft and still powerful. That’s the kind of energy I wanted to bring into this piece.