This was the name of the series of 16 portraits I made between 2008 and 2009, for the solo show of the same name. My aim was to bring visibility to immigrant Latinos, who are always vilified in mainstream media. I wanted the viewer to see the portraits and think about the persons, the individuals who come here to work. I recruited them either via word-of-mouth or by visiting local hardware stores. They posed for a total of 4 or 5 hours and were paid the model rate. Before the session I asked them to wear the clothes that said the most about who they were. The style for this series is different from later series in that it is the closest I have come to expressionism. I did not sell any paintings initially because I wanted the paintings to be shown together.

Undocumented