This is a portrait of a good friend of mine who was born a native of Guatemala, and came to live in Canada as a baby with her loving adoptive parents along with her birth sister. “Chontalli” is a Mayan word that means “Stranger”. I named the piece that to describe the feeling one feels when transplanted; in either place you could belong but you always feel a bit a stranger. Like an exotic bird brought to an environment that is not where you’re from but it is your home. The duality of that experience is hopefully better expressed in the image than my words.

Oils on aluminum panel 16X20

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