Tamara Santibañez draws from her holistic identity as it relates to the worlds of the American South, Mexican tradition, immigrant family dynamics, queerness, punk rock, and sadomasochism. She grounds her own experiences through piecing together formative fabrics, sounds, sensations, and memories into physical relics. Using painting, sculpture, and textiles to cross-reference seemingly disparate parts of her cultural background, she uncovers commonalities and weaves connections otherwise unseen, creating artifacts that represent complexities not often granted to marginalized communities.
At MAD, Santibañez will undertake a new body of work using leather tooling to reproduce punk and heavy metal patches and logos. Engaging with traditional motifs and techniques of Mexican leatherworking, she will create cross-cultural wall tapestry collages that blur the lines between chosen subculture and inherited familial culture.
For more information, visit www.tamarasantibanez.com.