Fabiola Penafiel

Artist Statement

When my Mami arrived in NYC, she dreamed of writing a book, hoping that her words would compel someone to stop the suffering she experienced on that journey. She, like thousands of migrants crossing into the U.S. yearly, never got to tell her story, and even if she had, would the public have listened?
With desensitization and indifference as heavy barriers to social change, art appeals to our humanity, providing vessels for the voices of those often reduced to barren statistics or politicized labels, particularly in conversations about immigration. Including a mixture of sculptural and functional works, my art highlights immigrant realities and narratives, exploring the immigration crisis through different lenses —those of sorrowful mothers, fearful children, and isolated adults. Every piece invites the audience to consider these perspectives, and the functional pieces, such as the cups and bowls, further highlight the privileged relationship between the public and the people whose stories they have the choice to consume. In this way, my work seeks to bridge the seemingly parallel realities of the audience and those often disregarded, allowing anguish and normalcy to coexist simultaneously with beauty, thus providing immigrant voices with an unignorable platform.