Sortilegio II, 2022, the imbedded abbreviated text, written during Huellas Que Germinan, reflects upon what life was like for the artist while being an undocumented immigrant in the United States of America and how this life transformed after gaining her residency status in 2015. Now benefiting from the privilege of mobility, being able to legally travel between two spaces that appear the same but are politically different, Amézquita traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, from the United States in 2016, where she collected soil, transporting it back to the U.S. along with her body. It is with this soil that she created the text for this work.
Materials: soil from the border that connects Tijuana- Baja California, Mexico with San Ysidro, California, Cal hidratada (hydrated lime), corn masa, salt, rain, screws, plywood, gypsum board. 72”x96”
Photos by Ian Byers-Gamber
AQUI EN EL LIMITE
AUN LEJOS DEL FINAL
EN MEDIO DE DOS VALLES DESIERTOS
QUE COMPARTEN EL MISMO CIELO NUBLADO
AQUI DONDE MIS PIES BESAN EL SUELO
MIENTRAS MI CUERPO SE EXPANDE
COMO EL AGUA QUE FLUYE
DEJANDO POR SU PASO EL CAMINO DE LA SOMBRA
DE LO QUE FUE
LA HUELLA DE LO QUE ES Y EL VACIO INCIERTO
DE LO QUE NUNCA
SE SI SERA
HERE ON THE LIMIT
STILL FAR FROM THE END
IN THE MIDDLE OF TWO DESERT VALLEYS
THAT SHARE THE SAME CLOUDY SKY
HERE WHERE MY FEET KISS THE GROUND
WHILE MY BODY EXPANDS
LIKE FLOWING WATER
LEAVING THE PATH OF THE SHADOW IN ITS PATH
OF WHAT WAS
THE MARK OF WHAT IS AND THE UNCERTAIN VOID
OF WHAT I NEVER KNOW
IF IT WILL BE
