Holding On
Parting
Cleansing
Standing
No Diving
Breathing
Treading
Untitled
These 9 photographs represent the 8 years that I have been away from Venezuela at the time, plus the one ongoing year. I arrived to the United States in 2010 as an international student-athlete (swimming) with a temporary status. Each year I was able to spend time in Venezuela, but that has not been the case since 2017. The last time I was in Venezuela I had no idea I was not going to be able to return. I did feel that I was spending less time each year, but it never went through my head the possibility of not going back.
Video Informativo
I am seeking, through my personal experience, what this separation between an individual and his country of origin means when it seems to be irreparable. In my case, emigrating was my own decision, but returning home is no longer possible. I have moved further and further away over the years as I have been forced to seek a better quality of life. I have felt a little more like a stranger and intruder—like a distant spectator of its economic and social instability. The events that are occurring have become just more news for me. I began to wonder at what point a person stops identifying as part of a society and begins to be influenced by his or her distance from it.