Working with my bricks for 3 years, Contra is an installation and performance archive, making up what I have been referring to as balancing acts. Añoranza, which is on all of the bricks is a Spanish word meaning longing or yearning and at the beginning of this project they were a reflection on the US Mexico border crisis, but since then, they have become an exploration of loss and desire through a lens of cultural connectivity and my lack thereof. This exploration of the third space inhabited by children of immigrants has become a key focus within my practice. My balancing acts have been small performative gestures captured through stop motion animation, in which I have been contemplating the give and take which exists trying to remain neutral within two words you do not belong to. 

Contra is made up of bricks which the moulds they're cast from were originally made 2 years ago. First I took a normal brick and using cardboard letters, I attached them with small amounts of hot glue to ensure they wouldn't move during the casting process. From there using silicone, I casted two moulds, and over the last 2 years, I have used them multiple times to cast over 100 plaster bricks. Now, I have used them as installation pieces, and performance props. In addition to this mould making process, I made a balancing beam out of two by fours, as well as a few plinths to aid in the documentation and performance process.