Miguel at Atelier Gallery
MIGUEL FROM AMERICAN PORTRAITS AT ATELIER GALLERY
October 2019
Miguel from American Portraits is on display at the Academy of Art University's Atelier Gallery at 79 New Montgomery in downtown San Francisco. The on-going American Portrait series are collages portraits of Americans; the base portrait is made with a medium format camera and then smaller reproductions of snapshots shared by the subject are collaged in, usually in the subject's clothing.
Miguel was an almost American — he is pictured here on a Tijuana beach with his American born son about a year after his deportation. He had lived in the United States for almost 30 years illegally, starting a business and a family. His best friend in Los Angeles drives the Miguel's son down once a month for a visit. Miguel only had a few snapshots to share; the collage pattern is created using a snapshot he shared of his American girlfriend holding their son and a picture of the US/Mexico border fence that I made. See the image and a close-up detail here.