NADA Miami 2023

The digital collage series “I am From Where You Vacation” delves into the Caribbean’s portrayal as a ‘Paradise’ and the exoticization associated with it. This project explores surreal scenes within tropical landscapes, offering a visual narrative that unveils the untold stories lying beneath the polarized realities experienced by Caribbean Locals, especially feminized bodies of color and tourists. By using personal archives of tropical getaway advertisements, these collages reinterpret what these paradisiacal images might look like through the lens of the locals, placing our realities at the forefront.

“I am From Where You Vacation” challenges the notion of ‘Paradise’ and scrutinizes the colonialist structures perpetuated by the tourism industry, all while creating an anti-colonialist visual discourse that reflects the authentic experiences of the locals.

“Paradise is Burning” is an exciting addition to the series. In these works, the images used in the collages are a blend of personal digital tropical archives and AI-generated imagery, featuring phrases like “End of paradise,” “Paradise is on Fire,” and “Tropical Apocalypse.” These new pieces further explore the complexities of the Caribbean experience, its representation, and how the AI is conditioned to imagine paradise.