Alexandra Pastorino
American Spirits or We The People...
In the 2016 election year, we witnessed dangerous, anti-immigrant populist ideas and ugly rhetoric disseminated even in the main stream media. As an artist and an immigrant – both of which play a large part of my identity – I have created “The Origins”, a series reflecting my own experience as a newcomer along with my passion for history.
This piece focuses on how knowing our roots, our origins, should inform our prospective of the future. The Native Americans and immigrants of yesterday become the Americans of today.
The trunk was the last vestige of the ‘old country’ that generations of immigrants brought with them on their journey to America. Outside, it resembles a regular piece of luggage but inside, perhaps pulls us in deeper into the American story itself and to a realization that we ourselves are part of the larger immigrant story too, a point along the way between those who came before and those who will arrive after.
For more information about the artist, please visit her website.