Sub-divisions

Created during an eight-month Fulbright investigation, Sub-divisions contemplates domesticity, immigration, and national identity. These photographs are composed of Mexican landscapes with incomplete houses under construction called Obra Negras ("black works"), contrasted with vintage appropriated images of the idealized American home. The construction of this body of work was fueled by our experience with immigration laws that threatened our sense of home. The Federal Defense of Marriage Act bars queer couples from the right to sponsor an immigrant spouse for permanent residence. Most queer bi-national couples are forced to separate because the U.S. government views them as strangers under the law. Sub-divisions addresses the universality and fragility of their collective dream of having a home.