Bio

Mila Villasana, ilustradora y diseñadora mexicana reside actualmente en San Miguel de Allende, pueblo singular en el centro de México conocido como meca para artistas de todo el mundo. Nacida en Cuernavaca Morelos, pasó su infancia en Taxco Guerrero. Parte de su adolescencia la vivió rodeada de la atmósfera progresiva y liberal de Burlington Vermont y su maravilloso paisaje lleno de verdor lo que la contagió con el amor al arte, la naturaleza y la protección del entorno. Diez años viviendo en los Estados Unidos no fueron suficientes para que su situación migratoria le permitiera continuar con su educación superior en ese país lo que hizo que regresara a su México natal en 2009. Su continuo interés por el cine, la escultura y la tecnología visual se enlazan con el desarrollo de sus habilidades como ilustradora y en sus estudios en animación stop-motion y 3D.

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Concepto

Mi trabajo juega con la yuxtaposición de elementos hiperrealistas de la naturaleza con patrones geométricos, abstractos y con símbolos.

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Exploro la belleza del mundo natural que se percibe en el fluir de las líneas y la perfección universal de su geometría que se plasma con tanta naturalidad.  Mi obra aborda gran variedad de temas que van desde anécdotas personales hasta exploraciones de dualidad. Me adentro en diversos temas relacionados con las experiencias que he vivido entre dos naciones y me dedico a explorar con mayor profundidad la dualidad.  

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Para esta exhibición exploraré mi formación bicultural y la empatía que por lo mismo desarrollé hacia ambos países. Deseo compartir una visión colectiva a partir de mi experiencia de vida.

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Bio

Mila Villasana is a Mexican digital artist, muralist and illustartor from Vermont currently residing in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. Having grown up as an undocumented immigrant in the United States, Mila’s work centers largely around the complicities of growing up as a bicultural immigrant by exploring juxtapositions of images of hyper-realism and the abstract. 

Beyond socio political interests, through recent years Mila’s involvement with environmental causes such as the Zero Waste Movement and the Audubon Society in Mexico have sparked an interest in using her art work as a way to raise awareness of environmental issues. She has worked with children from Audubon’s Kids and Nature program developing artistic projects including murals, to educate children about empathy toward nature and all living beings.

 

Her future plans as an artist is to develop her skills as an illustrator and some day become a professional animator. Through animation she hopes to create visual pieces with messages about issues that have influenced her life such as immigration, women’s/gender rights, permaculture, and animal rights.

 

Artist's Statement

I want to create a narrative through my work that not only illustrates my own personal story as an undocumented immigrant, but that helps those who may be unaware of the struggles and complexities of all current immigrant stories; a closer understanding and sense of empathy towards this current sociopolitical issue. Each piece is a narrative of every chapter of my story as so many children have had the experience of migrating to a foreign land in hopes of a better future. It is a map of two countries filled with joy, privilege, struggle, racism, persecution and self-realization. Through creating a visual narrative of my story, I hope the viewer will identify parallels of the human condition. Whether one relates entirely or not at all, our humanity ties us and thus, our journeys, different as they may be, unite us. Maybe then we’ll see that walls won’t ever be enough to keep us separated.

 

The work:

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The Promise of Gringolandia

This maps the fist chapter of my story, the process of migrating from Mexico to the United States. Much like memories, these pieces are illustrated as a collection of fluid images all tied together to represent a difficult journey that many have traveled and many have not survived.

 

The American Dream

A look into growing up an immigrant, homage to the country and culture that helped shape me, of the land I so grew to love. This is a portrait of how a liberal state like Vermont provided an idealistic façade of how America truly feels about immigration.

 

Ni de Aqui ni de Allá

Perhaps the most difficult piece to assemble is a portrait of the realities and consequences of a flawed system that is the United States Immigration Reform. This is a visual compilation showing how a country I once called home betrayed me, like many others, and left us displaced, rejected and banished.

 

Woke

Finally a portrait of what happens after a system fails us and how we survive. This is a look at the reconciliation with my native country, my people and my Mexican culture and how it has shaped. After every rejection and struggle, what’s left is resilience, and a hopeful desire to help those who are still living these stories today.