Nuestros Éxitos - Signed and Numbered (2 Signatures)
Artist statment by Arlene Mejorado:
When my friend Ernesto Yerena approached me to collaborate with him on the art piece “Nuestros Éxitosâ€, I knew that working with him would be a great experience because I respect his work ethic, vision, and art career. He was inspired by a portrait I published and he understood the photo was about confidence, triumph and love. We discussed the goals of families that have relocated to the US due to economic hardship and the experience of being a first or second-generation child growing up in the US. Many parents strive for a better quality life for their children and make due with what they can handle at the time but the end goal never changes. Youth are like the sunrise because they promise a new day and the orange colors are the radiation of good fortune. Our path to accomplish new things and to triumph challenges ahead are given foundation by our ancestors but also those that are still alive and still giving us life. We have sat on their shoulders.
We wanted to mark a moment of accomplishment after generations of struggle with the image of a young person radiating confidence, self-love, and ambition. Arriving to this point can be a result of generations of struggle. For both of us, this served as a source of inspiration for the piece. This isn’t to ignore other narratives such as the child that perhaps did not grow up in a nuclear family and was forced to become independent early in life, or the child that survived neglect and/or abuse.
For more of Arlene Mejorado's Photography please visit:
http://www.arlenemejorado.com/
