Nabil Gonzalez holds a double BFA degree in Printmaking and Graphic Design from the University of Texas at El Paso and an MFA in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design. As a studio artist, Gonzalez’s works have been focused on social and political views affecting the borderland area of the United States and Mexico. In her work Gonzalez explores the erasure and reestablishing of identity through the repetition and layering of images, marks, and materials. Through her work Gonzalez tries to shake and bring awareness to a society that has become numb and unresponsive to the brutal acts of violence towards minority groups. But most importantly she wants to be a voice for the countless murdered, disappeared victims of social and political injustice. Gonzalez works have been shown throughout the United State, Mexico, Colombia and China. Her artist books and prints are included in museum collections and library special collections in the United States.
Artist Statement
In 2018 a great number of Latin American caravans embarked a journey in search for the American Dream. Thousands of migrant families fled their hometowns escaping gang violence, poverty and extortion. They left behind their homes and most of their belongings with hopes of seeking political asylum in the United States. The journey was not easy many of them traveled thousands of miles just to reach the border between Guatemala and Mexico, a border that just meant reaching the American Dream was so close to being a reality. The Guatemala/Mexico border was closed and they were denied entry, but a simple fence did not stop a more powerful dream, the dream of having a decent life. But for may of them traveling across Mexico and finally reaching the US/Mexico border just meant the end of their journey for the American Dream.
During this journey migrants were faced with some of the most inhumane circumstances, they faced homelessness, weather hardships, hunger, thirst, sickness, violence, abuse and death. Migrants are often dehumanize by government agencies and by policies set by their superiors. Families get torn apart and children are put in cages and forced to go through the most traumatic experiences. They lose their identities and memory becomes fragmented often being erased by fear.
The purpose of my work is to bring light to the unique brew of injustice that frequently occurs at the US/Mexico border. Discussing and revealing social issues in the border region is a part of my artistic process, all towards the end goal of documenting the atrocities committed in today’s society. This group of work is a commentary on border detention camps for immigrants and the injustices they face while interned by government agencies.
Through my work I strive to touch on memory and identity erasure, both metaphorically and literal though the manipulation of imagery and process. The repetition here is meant to emphasize the sheer number if immigrants affected and the magnitude of the problem.
With my work I transmit specific emotions; I want the viewer to feel sadness, uneasiness, and disgust. My intent is to seductively draw in the viewer with immediate visual beauty while simultaneously positioning them as the abuser as I challenge their perspectives towards the subject at hand.
I wish to immerse myself in the importance of memory by challenging the established criteria of what is appropriate and inappropriate in society. Through my use of imagery, repetition and materials I want to push boundaries and raise awareness. Mostly, I intend to have the viewer take responsibility as an active member of society by triggering their senses and exposing the unexpected, embedding a message in the viewers mind and transforming their reality.