Ferocactus I

by Amalia Dorion

“Growing up in the desert southwest borderlands, the resiliency and richness of this land’s community and natural forms intertwining with one another has always been an inspiration in my life. This region is one that is frequently degraded- deemed dead, brown, useless- but those who are not a part of this community often divide and invoke hate over the people and nature living there, without understanding the beautiful abundance that this landscape and its people represent. Through my art, I aim to represent my desert life and borderland community through beautiful abundance against society’s materialistic, deprecating views. Colors and forms native to my homeland are constant inspiration, as well as their correlation to the sister cities I grew up in, El Paso, Texas & Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. These plant forms flourish through brutal weather conditions similar to the ways in which my community thrives as one despite the harshest outside forces attempting to separate them.”