gracias

screen printed images on Spanish bar napkins with American flag toothpick, each napkin measures 5" x 3", 2025

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This piece was ​created in  response to the initial deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador in March, 2025. I had recently returned from a trip to Spain, and had brought back with me several bar napkins that had "gracias por su visita" printed on them. These bar napkins are iconic items in Spanish bars. In a similar way the images I chose are an iconic representation of the deportation. I found the phrase, translated as, "thank you for your visit," in sharp contrast to current US immigration policies and practices, and I sought to play with the irony of juxtaposing the text and images.