My work is about the Latin cultural stigma towards Mental Health, the struggles we face in our society and treatment. Brenda identifies as a Mexican-American with a mental illness. She uses her cultural beliefs of mental health to bring awareness to the stigma issues with in the culture and lack of equality. Disparities, stigma, and language barriers have impacted those from seeking treatment. With in Healthcare Insurance we are experiencing racial and ethnic disparities. Living with a mental illness is not easy. No one working to recover from a mental illness should be faced with stigma and disparities that prevent us from getting the right treatment. The stigma in our culture has also kept Latinos in secrecy. Due to the cultural stigma, it has created shame and embarrassment within those who are mentally ill. Unfortunately, there is not enough social support. Latinos with a mental illness should not be feared by stigma.
Through my work, I want to bring awareness to mental health and create change to the contemporary problematic realities we are experiencing. Negative attitudes toward those living with a mental illness should also be altered. Along with our cultural stigma, we also face discrimination. The racial and ethnic minority microaggression that we might experience when seeking treatment need to be addressed. We should have the help that we need in order to better our mental health. Overall stigma and inequalities in our community are very hurtful to our love ones who are working to recover from a mental illnesses. I paint positive and hopeful destigmatized text on an attached diptych compared to the stigmatized negative attitudes. I use traditional rendering to create the medicine bottles.
In my content, I use complementary medication bottles images, the simultaneous contrast of color and bilingual text. I am also currently using vibrant colors on flower designs that are used in Mexican Oaxaca designs in forms of decolonizing. I use mediums such as gouache on paper.
Ultimately, my artwork is societal, about racial justice, human rights and of Latin culture of mental health with in the U.S. I have been influenced by artists Francisco Goya, Robert De La Rocha, Yayoi Kusama, and Victoria Santa Cruz.
