“García, Family of 4” is a series of collagraphs that represents the laundry of an immigrant Mexican family living in California. Laundry and cleaning products from Mexico are easily found in stores in the United States, from big box stores, such as Target, to smaller Mexican specialty shops. When I first moved to California I began to notice and easily identify the scent of these Mexican detergents on families’ clothing. The prevalence struck me, and highlights the importance of scent as a link to cultural heritage, memory and comfort.
Monterey Museum of Art 2021
Based on the 2010 census, García was the most common Mexican last name in the United States.
Collagraphs, mat board, frame, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
63x34 in.
This family portrait documents the American Dream of happiness within the nuclear family. Family portraits are commonly displayed in public areas of the house, thus allowing the private acts of domestic labor and care for the family, expressed through their clothing, to enter the public realm. This portrait represents the individuals in the García family, as they go out into the world. Their clothes provide not only a visual expression of cultural notions of cleanliness, but also the scents and dignity associated with these.
Collagraphs, mat board, frame, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
63x34 in.
Collagraphs, mat board, frame, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Juana (mom)
Collagraphs, mat board, frame, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Juana’s (mom’s) clothing
Collagraph, hanger, drawing on Dura-Lar
Collagraph, hanger, drawing on Dura-Lar
Hand embroidery on cotton muslin
27x60 in
Life-size hand embroidery on cotton muslin of a typical American washing washing. Similar to “Despiedada,” this piece highlights unseen household labor. While the tools and location of this labor differ greatly between Guatemala and the United States, it is nonetheless a series of never-ending physical tasks performed in private that become public signifiers of a family’s identity.
Hand embroidery on cotton muslin
27x60 in
Monterey Museum of Art 2021
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
As an immigrant, one uses aspects of an idealized past to shape an idealized future. This drawer contains Isabel’s clothes. She is the daughter in the García family. Laundering, ironing, and folding clothing are private acts of care and love for the family—the family must be able to go out into the world and represent who they are with dignity. The scents, products, and associated routines, acts of performative memory, help both maintain a sense of cultural identity and pass it down to future generations.
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
43x35x13 in.
“Todo” represents the unseen, yet fundamental, home maintenance routines that go into caring for the family. The act of performing this work reinforces cultural identity and familial roles. In addition, this private labor is central to re-producing appropriate social dispositions.
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
This ironing board contains the clothing of Luis and Juana, the dad and mom in the García family. Ensuring culturally proper social presentation, ironing all clothing and household items is an essential step in laundry and family-care routines. The act of ironing is a fundamental form of performative memory, as it creates a tie between past and future generations, home, and belonging.
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
43x35x13 in.
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
43x35x13 in.
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Collagraphs, ironing board, clothes hangers, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
43x35x13 in.
Drawing on Dura-Lar, collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Drawing on Dura-Lar, collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Mateo’s drawer. Mateo is the son in the García family, and this drawer contains his neatly laundered, ironed and folded, clothing. It is scented with Suavitel fabric softener, thus reinforcing the importance of scent in maintaining/creating cultural identity, memory, and belonging.
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Drawing on Dura-Lar, collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
18x7x14 in.
Drawing on Dura-Lar, collagraphs, drawer, Suavitel Fabric Softener scent
Monterey Museum of Art 2021
Roma, Vel Rosita, and Suavitel brand laundry detergent/softener scented candles, decals
Each 2x8x2 in.
Prayer candles are prevalent in homes and markets in both Mexico and California. Across cultures, candles are products that we buy and subsequently imbue with spiritual and personal meaning, whatever that signifies for each of us. With this piece, I view nostalgia as a form of belonging and as a link to an idealized past. These candles highlight our reliance on products in forming and maintaining our identity. They also speak to the powerful and unbreakable links scents create between time, memory and place.
Roma, Vel Rosita, and Suavitel brand laundry detergent/softener scented candles, decals
Each 2x8x2 in.
Roma is a powdered laundry detergent, with a loyal following and distinct scent and packaging.
Vel Rosita is a detergent for delicates, widely used in Guatemala and Mexico and available in the United States.
Suavitel is the quintessential fabric softener. It is omnipresent and it’s scent, logo, and packaging are unmistakable.