Chanti Medina

I make mixed media paintings and sculptures that explore faith, dreams, and Hispanic culture. I aim to portray transcendence by imagining and translating a visual experience of the spiritual realm. To do this I work with color gradients, patterns, iconography, gold, lace, and fabrics to create layered mixed media pieces. I hand make wooden frames and shaped panels to allude to both altar pieces and domestic spaces. This pairing connects a sense of home and family to spirituality and leans into the healing practice of linking the history of my culture with the divine. Incorporating catholic imagery and Mexican trinkets or household items adds to this sense of history and nostalgia. I am interested in how memory distorts over time and explore this by portraying distortion or some abstraction. Inspired by fever dreams of my ancestors, I recreate the scenes of my nightmares, translating moments that burst from my consciousness into objects to share with those that have experienced the grief and beauty of love and loss.