Artist Statement:  I am a visual artist.  I work in Photography. This media allows me to keep exploring other materials. My work expresses mixed emotions and trauma. I reveal to the viewer stories that live under the shadows. The US laws and regulations force us to reject the notion of self, but I refused to bow down in order to be visible in this country. We are seen as ashes, but we live as fire. The process of creating my work helps with my own process of healing. Through my sketching process, I am reminded that each of my pieces are the only few weapons I own. I discovered that my approach needed to be bold, loud and clear to make me feel visible. The center of my art is inspired by personal stories and resilience in my community. My work demonstrates my influence from Japanese Anime, Indigenous art, Posters, Pop Art, Public Art, and Comics. I am using my work pieces as agents of voice and change against the immigration system. It is important to present this work in a country in which I am constantly told that I have no right to have an identity to call my own. I make connections in my work between art and my struggles to be visible. I use social justice tools to fight for human rights. My work reflects the constant struggles and barriers that I and others face every day in my community. This is the world that I am living in and we both lose when I remain silent.

 

Artist Bio:  Lucino Sosa Montano is a Maplewood-based multidisciplinary artist whose work transcends categorization. Montano, a native of southern Mexico, immigrated to the United States in 2005 and established his own unique blend of illustrations, photography, and poems to uncover the roots of grief, joy, and trauma. Through his cathartic works, Sosa seeks to provide a voice to systematically excluded individuals and persons of color who have been victims of systematic oppression. He seeks to advocate for all communities by mixing his art with activism. Lucino also helps others express their own experiences and emotions through art, and to process trauma and share their stories. Creating political art, he hopes to bring light to these communities and start supporting all people. he has exhibited his work in many galleries around the twin cities such as : FreshEye Gallery in Minneapolis, Gage Gallery at Augsburg University, Grey Lab art (Online), La Dona Cerveceria gallery and others