Lily Guillen

Lily Guillen’s work explores the ways in which Catholicism has been an enabler for domestic violence, and rejects those ideas through the reclamation of knowledge, physical space, authority, and autonomy. Each piece challenges traditional ideas of women in religion by resignifying a religious icon, reshaping the stories of women in the bible, and highlighting ways in which our Mexican culture has been affected by colonialism. She is also challenging traditional ideas of art by letting the work hang off the wall and canvas, not allowing it to be strictly two-dimensional or three-dimensional, and by transforming conventionally cheap materials. Photography and embroidery are two media that have been marginalized within the art world. Photography was not accepted as fine art in its beginning because it was faster than painting. Embroidery also wasn’t considered fine art in its beginning because it was mainly done by women in their homes. The act of reclaiming starts with the media and materials. Guillen also reflects on the liminality of being a Chicana artist by not letting the work be solely 3D or 2D. As Chicanas, we are neither from here nor there, we are from both places and neither at the same time; she wanted her work to reflect that. The inspiration from this work comes from her personal life growing up, but the work is not a literal illustration of her experience.