IDALIA VASQUEZ-ACHURY | Marisma, 2022

Marisma is a high-quality, limited-edition series of three signed, numbered books. Each book is a hybrid, hand-constructed and offset printed, containing two overlapping signatures that open flat to three pages, allowing the viewer to play with the narrative of the book’s visual structure. "Marisma," which translates to "estuary," refers to turbulent and transitional marine environments that support some of the most diverse and productive ecosystems in the world. This ecological metaphor helps me convey my experience as a Colombian-born woman, mother, and artist living in the United States. The book raises questions about representation and identity. As Edward Soja said, “Many migrants exist in a liminal or ‘Third Space’ between cultures and nationalities, physical locations, and imagined or represented spaces.” We construct a sense of place, home, and identity at these intersections. Like an estuary, this dynamic visual experience alludes to the nonlinear and complex immigrant existence – a life full of profound, transformative, and dislocating moments.

BIO

Idalia Vasquez-Achury is a Colombian-born, Philadelphia-based lens media artist and educator. Exploring performance, installation, and photography, her practice centers on Latinx immigration and identity formation, delving into physical and mental spaces of transition and perpetual becoming. Her multidisciplinary practice encompasses photography, artist books, and large-scale photographic installations. Currently, Idalia teaches photography at the Tyler School of Art at Temple University. In 2023, Vasquez-Achury was the winner of the 97th Annual at the Print Center, Philadelphia, where she was awarded a solo exhibition. The same year, she received the Blake Bradford Filter Club Artist in Residence award. Her work has been featured in various solo and group exhibitions, and her artist books are part of collections at the University of the Arts and the Charles Library at Temple University. Idalia earned an MFA in Photography from Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University.