WORKS > PRINTMAKING

Hasta La Casta
Hasta La Casta
Screenprint
image: 23 5/8 in. x 17 1/4 in. (60 cm x 43.8 cm); sheet: 27 13/16 in. x 21 5/16 in. (70.6 cm x 54.1 cm)
2017

Printed and published by Overpass Projects, Providence, RI

Purchases can be made here

"Hasta La Casta" presents a mandala of U.S. immigrants, or dreamers, holding hands while encircling their matriarchal ancestors. The figures are depicted as various animals to draw attention to the historical animalization of those racialized bodies that seek citizenship in the U.S.  "Hasta La Casta” is an intentionally provocative phrase riffing-off of “Hasta La Vista”. Swapping "Vista" for “Casta” in the title invokes the Spanish Caste system implemented during colonial Spanish America, which categorically instituted a class hierarchy primarily based on skin color. The caste system is being recalled here to reflect the nature of the treatment of minority communities and undocumented citizens by U.S. immigration authorities.