Cross No Horizon
2024In 2019, I helped establish Creatives for Asylum Seekers and Migrants (CASM) to address the mistreatment of migrants at the Texas border. Despite CASM's limited activity, my commitment to migrant advocacy persists. When invited to participate in Night Light 2024, I seized the opportunity to spotlight the experiences of migrants on 'La Bestia' freight train, inspired by the phrase 'Cross No Horizons' found at the site. Although I initially felt unqualified, my love for the undocumented community compelled me to integrate their stories into my artwork, aiming to evoke awareness and empathy for their journey.
BME [Shayna]
2020My dedicated photo camera broke and I couldn't take headshots like I intended. But I also wanted to play with my video camera near where I live. There are lots of cool low light scenarios that I'd wanted to place someone in for a while. It's not being the easiest thing to do, ask someone to just walk around and talk with you...while you record or photograph them. That's my comfort zone, where all my best work comes from.
I like getting to know people and also being able to share those experiences with others. The fear that we will all be forgotten eventually drives me to document every conversation, gathering, meeting or occurrence so that we can always look back and recall, remember and be reminded of our past selves and our community. My sole aim with everything I do is to project myself and my community that much further into the future because history books have always managed to leave out some of the best parts of the story...us.
BME [Shayna] is an archive of the time and space occupied, the conversations, topics and their tones.
A.W.H. (Ashley Was Here)
2020
After her mother's passing, Ashley takes in Downtown Houston for the last time.
Arranged as a collection of vignettes and scattered moments, A.W.H. serves as documentation that Ashley was here and I bore witness of her presence here.
No Pretense
2023[Un]abridged
2021A visual essay, carries the narrative of a person reaching their lowest point, yet unwilling to give up.