Lizzy Alejandro

"Ours, Not Yours"

“Ours, Not Yours” addresses cultural appropriation of the indigenous, Taíno, and Latin culture. By placing objects that are native to these cultures within a circle of traps, I am reclaiming what has been stolen from us. Incorporating some of my personal practices rooted in Santeria, a religious practice by West African enslaved people in the Caribbean, who used Catholic church symbols to disguise their Yoruba deities. In the Santeria religion, it is common to perform spell work or ceremonies near bodies of water that signify purification or protection. Seeking to evoke these traditions, I photographed these objects near the Pelham Bay Lagoon in the Bronx. The lighting of the prayer candle and sage are used for clearing spaces and protection spells. The cut fruit becomes an offering to mother nature as a way to express gratitude. Photographing these objects becomes ritualistic, creating a space for catharsis while in a sense, casting a protection spell, reclaiming our power and identity through these objects. 

“Trail of Tears,” a double entendre playing off the forced displacement of Native Americans that occurred in the 1830’s with the teardrop tattoo from prison culture. In prison culture, a teardrop tattoo signifies one has committed murder while an outline of a teardrop signifies attempted murder. Drawing from historical events, I position these six men- Christopher Columbus, Juan Ponce de Leon, Juan Gines de Sepulveda, Andrew Jackson, Ulysses S. Grant, and Richard Henry Pratt as criminals for the atrocities they have committed against the Natives in America and in the Caribbean.