Tierra Firme

I was born crossing rivers. Nature has been my most honest companion, never crueler than necessary, never less than enough. Growing up between two cultures taught me to look for meaning in the in-between. Between dark and light, between right and wrong, between the mountains where every river runs.
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This body of work explores the relationship between power, working-class survival, and cultural identity. I reflect on the experiences of migrants and marginalized communities, where survival often requires navigating systems that measure human worth through labor alone.
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Wildlife is frequently viewed through a lens of utility. Categorized, harvested, and judged by size or profit rather than complexity. In the same way, working-class people are often valued primarily for the work they produce while their identities remain unseen. By placing these ideas within Appalachian landscapes, my work examines resilience, visibility, and the quiet forms of rural resistance that allow life to persist.