Mateo Zhicay-Banegas
Buffalo State University
Buscando Nuevos Horizontes
While visiting my hometown on Long Island, I came across three figures looking outwards towards the sea, tranquil during an afternoon beach trip while the sun slowly set opposite them. They are fixed on the horizon to find in it perhaps freedom, perhaps home, which might be distant from them.
With the sign behind the lifeguard chair that reads “NOT ALLOWED”, the piece reflects a sense of exclusion from the current American structure, of what or who is accepted in this country. Yet while the figures may be looking outwards, possibly to new worlds more accepting, they are not posed with any urgency, rather with comfort, which establishes a subtle yet powerful act of resistance against oppressive prejudices seeking to remove their existence from this country.
