MyTwoMothers

The few physical and behavioral differences
that I see in human beings do not matter, in my
opinion, when considering the overall scheme
of things. We all are born, grow up, work, eat,
make choices, love, grow old and eventually
die, but the biggest difference on how we do
these things resides in our individuality.

For “Gender: A Visual Conversation” I chose a
woman as my subject and the “growing old”
part of life as my theme, –in fact, that woman is
my mother, who is afflicted by Alzheimer’s.   I
also included references to my native Cuba,
my “Patria Madre” (motherland), which is the
last, though rapidly fading, memory left in my
mother’s mind.   I have called this body of
work: “My Two Mothers.”

Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain that
causes a steady decline in memory. This
results in dementia, a loss of intellectual
functions like thinking, remembering and
reasoning, which is severe enough to
interfere with everyday life. According to the
Alzheimer’s Association, there are more
women afflicted by this disease than men.

This series of paintings is full of symbols that
talk about my mother, Cuba, and my feelings
about them. Some of these symbols are the
ocean, which surrounds the Island and was an
important part of our daily lives, the Island
itself, little clues denoting the loss of memory,
loss of control and the loss of one’s self.   I
also conveyed aging, solitude, despair and a
sense of time lost.

I used oil on canvas for the three small
portraits, and wood panels for the other six
pieces. I also used collage and mixed media
constructions in some of them.