Oscar Gonzalez-Diaz

Lives and works in Chicago, IL

Artist statement

The work I make arises from social systems and their relationship to content: quick shelter cement for refugees, plexiglas used in forensic studies, poplar and paint in American houses, bureaucratic forms used in asylum granting, etc. My work questions the way in which governments have self-exiled immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees in societies that remove all agency from the people, moving decision making away from them in relationship to their freedom, ability to negotiate social upheaval and creating a situation for them to reconsider their employment, religion and family under the framework of ‘politics’. The aim is not for audiences to feel sympathy, rather it is for them to embody a sense of empathy as masses of people navigate across borders through oppressive systems that are originally intended to help them. My experiences in the uncertainty of our current situation in the U.S. has led my work to be more concerned about the situation of immigrants and asylum seekers internationally. This serves to make use of the space and time that a viewer allows for conversation. We must be humble with each other and listen as much as we can. We must share our spaces to give voice to those that cannot.

Artwork