Amanda Cervantes, Steelworkers Park 87th Street Ore Wall, Silver Gelatin Print, 8 x 10 in, 2022
Artwork Statement:
This photograph is a part of a series of works dedicated to migration. Namely, when my family arrived in Chicago and where subsequent generations in my family chose to settle after the fact. My grandparents settled on the far southeast side of Chicago in the late 60's and my grandfather, amongst thousands of immigrants, went to work at the South Works steel complex. During this time, the southside of Chicago was a site for a lot of industrial work, namely steel, with these ore walls being as long as the John Hancock building on its side. South Works steel mill closed in 1992 and over a decade later, the steel works site was restored into a nature park. Only a few blocks away is the neighborhood that is known as the Bush, and the empty lot that was my mother's childhood home. Being at this site felt overwhelming, the ore walls became looming rock formations, their decay making them seem more natural than a result of massive industry. It doesn't feel like you're in Chicago when you're there amongst the park's nature views despite this area being so central to the history of this city. What has interested me about the southeast side has been the site of industry and how they have impacted the southeast side and my family / community of people who call it home.
Artist Bio:
Amanda Cervantes is a queer Latinx visual artist, curator and writer based in Chicago Illinois. Her artist practice focuses on queer temporalities, family histories and the archive. Through working with her family's ephemera, she builds narratives around the conversations of familial mythologies, masculinity and queerness. She has done collaborative projects with the GlobalCenter for Advanced Studies Latin America, Chicago Art Department, Threewalls, Ontario College of Art & Design and The Overlook Place and currently works in the Digital Media Design department at Harold Washington College.