by Rolando Palacio
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Artist Statement
I remember the stories; they were so real; I think I drifted in and out of realities, that’s if I even had any at that time. My uncle was terrified the night he said that the shadows moved. Imagine a grown man running like a chicken without a head. They called it la lechuca. In Mexico dreams are real, and they are happening all the time. This is a dream and I just don’t know it.
I remember sitting there thinking the night would last longer than the dream I thought I was in. The shadows seemed empty at times but the curtains whispered memories of Mexico’s lost souls. This kid covered his head so tightly and every night begged his sister to wake from her dream to see if everything was real. They walked like soldiers in the night waiting for a command from Pancho Villa.
This one night the chair grew limbs, it sat tentative and observant. They say la llorona comes to take children; I knew this was my last night. They say life flashes before you eyes when the time has come, but its you who chooses whether to go in to the next dream.
Artist Biography
As an artist I was introduced to folklore mythological stories that were passed from generation to generation. My influence has always been my culture and the people that have surrounded me within a large Mexican immigrant community. The imagination of family stories greatly inspired me to great my own artistically interpretation of what these stories represented for me in my present time, but I also wanted to know the individuals that were present in these communities.
I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, which is located in the border of Mexico and Texas and was introduced to many arts in both the U.S. and Mexico regions. As a migrant worker in the United States I had the opportunity to continue my love for art at Michigan State University with the help of the College Assistance Migrant Program scholarship. I received a BFA in Studio Art in 2010 in Michigan State University with a concentration in photography. I continue to explore the stories that my mother and father have passed on to me, but I am also presently working on personal projects dealing with my life experiences that have been invisible to the mainstream public.
