Kiara Aileen Machado Artwork

Kiara Aileen Machado is a contemporary artist born in Lynwood, California, who depicts and explores the construction of identity, familial lineage, intergenerational trauma, and culture in her work. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in painting and drawing from California State University Long Beach in 2018.

Machado has worked on murals in border towns calling attention to the violence these borders bring to communities, migration, and the environment. The murals have been between San Diego and Tijuana, Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. She also co-facilitated a community-based mural in Siguatepeque, Honduras, and recently completed a mural in El Monte through the Summer of Solidarity residency with LAvsHate and MuralColors.

Her artwork has been seen in museums and galleries across the United States and has begun to show internationally, including in Florence, Frankfurt, Berlin, Paris, San Salvador, and Antigua. Her work has been acquired by the Hood Museum and Ulrich Museum.

Gracias

In "Gracias," at the center is a chumpa, engulfed by a variation of flowers and worry dolls hidden throughout the painting. With the hidden worry dolls, I wanted to highlight the different individuals that have crossed, from folks migrating by themselves, mothers crossing with their children, and whole families.

My mother immigrated from Guatemala to the United States when she was 19 years old with a friend. What was supposed to be a three-week journey turned into three months. During this time, they became friends with another young man traveling by himself, from Nicaragua. Upon arriving, before everyone went their own ways, the young man gave my mom his jacket. There is such beauty in this small act of kindness—of finally arriving with little to nothing, and still having the selflessness to gift the few possessions on you.

I wanted to highlight how these families are formed amongst individuals that cross together or get stuck at borders with these shared traumatic experiences that nobody else can relate to except for those that have made the journey.

I wanted to extend a thank you for being so nice to my mom and commemorate these acts of kindness and humanity in such dark and uncertain moments.

I often think about
All that the desert has seen,
To what the depths of the ocean have testified to,
And all that the night sky has witnessed.

Thank you to you, wherever you are, for this gift to my mom.

Llamame Por Mi Nombre

Walking through my family’s home, the walls are adorned with recuerditos — souvenirs. Each wood-crafted piece has a glossy varnish, immortalizing the national bird or currency, hand-painted with the distinct style of artisans from Central America. Small but undeniable of their origin, these pieces have become precious heirlooms, being a staple of the colorful culture and skilled hands from Central America.

I make my paintings like these recuerditos.

I identify as Central American, as my mother is from Guatemala, my father is from El Salvador, and my great-grandmother was from Honduras. Through this cultural framework, my work brings into question the absence and exclusion of Central American folx from mainstream U.S. and Latinx narratives.

Just as my parents have taught me the beauty and resilience of Central American folx, they have also taught me the strength in my name. Having my identity constantly questioned compels my work to be centered around the importance and significance of one’s identity.

“Llamame Por Mi Nombre” highlights the layered complexities of identity that are shaped by our geographical surroundings and cultivated through community. Despite all the atrocities we have and continue to endure, I want to express the beauty of our culture and our continuing resilience.

For this series, the figures take center stage, highlighting how diverse and intersecting Central American identities are. I believe that we [Central Americans] should have the ability and platform to tell our own stories. My paintings serve as documentation of our existence, a means of healing from trauma, and empowering our identities through visibility.

Para Mi Abuelita Lupe

The monochromatic figures in congruence to the brightly painted background and Salvadoran iconography thoughtfully placed alongside the edges of the painting create a fluidity between past and present. The figure in the top left corner is my uncle, who passed away at a young age, and the two figures to the right are my paternal grandmother standing next to my father, who at the time the picture was taken was a teenager.

Only my father’s figure has a shadow, as my grandmother recently passed away. I had done a quick ink life drawing of my grandmother at a family gathering a couple of years ago. It is the only drawing from life I had done of her, and I wanted to mimic that linear drawing into the painting.

This painting highlights how, no matter how much time passes or recent losses, loved ones who are no longer with us physically are very much present, integrated, and celebrated.