With every stroke of her brush, pencil or medium used, Long Beach artist Karina Vazquez is intent on using her art to shine a light on social issues.
“I think artists should always pull from what’s happening,” Vazquez said. “[When] there’s good things then, of course, you need nice art but there’s all these other issues going on in the world, and if we ignore them, then we’re not really reflecting on what’s happening.”
Vazquez shows solidarity through her art by paying homage to farmworkers, immigrants, essential workers and national movements like Black Lives Matter (BLM) and Stop Asian Hate.
Her latest mural, an ode to essential workers, adorns a community space in Canoga Park.
The sharp rays of the sun appear as a crown over the face of a person turned upwards as if soaking in the heat. Her long blue braids swing below her like arms. A lone hand appears above the braids holding a red heart, its blue arteries extending into a fruit tree. A yellow banner hangs from a branch with the word “Esencial” (essential) proudly flowing like a flag.
“It was commissioned during the middle of the pandemic, and it was an ode to the migrant workers and the essential workers that were still working, risking their lives to make ours easier,” she said.
For Vazquez the piece holds meaning. Her family, who hold jobs as janitorial workers, mechanics and plumbers, never stopped working through the pandemic.
“Everyone had these jobs where you make other people’s lives go round,” she said. “I put a lot of heart into that piece, it meant a lot to me.”
Vazquez also wanted to highlight the importance of these workers outside of the pandemic.
“[I wanted] to remind people that they like to complain about immigration, and the truth of the matter is that [these workers] are doing so much for the country, and for us as individuals, and we don’t even think about it,” she said.
As a Mexican immigrant herself, Vazquez uses her work to uplift the plight of other immigrants.
An illustration she posted on Instagram in September 2020 depicts a woman whose stare is fixed on the ground, wearing exhaustion and sorrow on her face. The black and white symmetrical landscape behind her shows a desert and a man-made border. Two jugs with the words “compasion” (compassion) and “dignidad” (dignity) stand to the right.
The image was created for a contest by humanitarian aid nonprofit Border Angels.
Another piece from July 2019 depicts a young immigrant girl with two long tears falling down her face, her brow delicately furrowed. Using aluminum, Vazquez blanketed the girl’s body, which is surrounded by a bright yellow sun and mountains. The artwork is encased in steel wire, like a cage.
With the purpose to stand with immigrant children and shine a light on the work of immigrant groups, Vazquez sold the piece and donated the proceeds to nonprofit Border Kindness.
“I didn’t struggle the same way that a lot of them are struggling right now,” Vazquez said. “But that’s part of the reason why I like to focus on [immigration] because I was given an opportunity to come here and make my life here and that’s exactly what they’re trying to do.”
Vazquez extended the same care and solidarity to BLM with a colorful mural on Pine Street in Long Beach of a young Black girl wearing a crown holding out a sign that reads “Change is Coming.”
An illustration she created depicting a young Asian girl holding a “watchful eye” will be part of an anti-racism project taught to middle and high school children nationwide through the organization Make Noise Today.
“I’m glad to be a part of something that is meant to educate, facilitate difficult topics, and create a positive impact in a world that seems quite mad,” Vazquez said in an Instagram post.
Not one to be confined, Vazquez’s work extends far beyond cultural issues, using her art to explore her own emotions and those of the world.
Often, the overt emotion portrayed in her characters is a reflection of current events.
To reflect on how 2020 affected her and fellow artist Alepsis Hernandez mentally and emotionally, the two collaborated on a 20-foot mural in Gardena. Part of the piece shows a woman almost fully submerged in water, her eyes closed in resignation.
“It was like a big reminder to ourselves and to everyone else that we just have to stand up and rise above the struggle,” she said.
As Vazquez continues her journey as an artist, she takes the responsibility of uplifting the underrepresented seriously.
“We have a voice,” Vasquez said of being an artist. “However small it may be, there’s a number of people paying attention.”
To keep up with Vazquez’s work follow her on Instagram @sleepy.day.dreams.
