Mis Hijos : outdoor projection by Alejandra Abad

The Arbor Institute presents an outdoor video installation of Mis Hijos by interdisciplinary artist Alejandra Abad. Mis Hijos will be projected on continuous loop from 7-10pm on Friday, September 25th on the front exterior wall of the Arbor Institute at 1708 13th St. in Boulder, CO during the opening night of the Interwoven Community Vigil.

The moving artwork features a poem written and recited by the artist’s mother, Lisbeth. This is a visual record created during isolated walks of the artist’s observations and her mother’s internal struggles of being apart from her children during the pandemic. The projection can be viewed outside safely from the park and public areas around the Arbor Institute with social distancing.

This installation is part of the month-long exhibition Interwoven : a resting place for collective grief.

Video of isolated walks in Boulder, Colorado in March 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic & audio of mother’s voice.

1:17 min on Loop

> View more on Alejandra Abad’s website

About the artist:

“My art practice is an extension of my values.
Art & ethics are good friends.”

Alejandra Abad was born in Venezuela and partially raised in Florida. She is an interdisciplinary artist with a penchant for dense, fantastical landscapes and abstract shapes. Her style is informed by her studies in Architecture at Florida Atlantic University and in Film, Video, and New Media at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where she received her BFA. In 2018 she received a fellowship at CU Boulder, where she is currently pursuing an MFA in Interdisciplinary Media Arts Practices. Currently she is part of the 2020-2021 Engaged Arts and Humanities Graduate Student Scholars cohort at CU Boulder. Her recent projects feature conceptual and collaborative pieces that work to break down the barriers between artist and audience. She creates honest and symbolic narratives in a visual language that depicts fragmentation, mythology, and folklore. Her installations use analog and digital processes – including painting, animation, sculpture, etc. – to make immersive environments that reflect her identity and values. 

Mis Hijos

Mis hijos es lo que me hace levantarme cada dia
My children are why I wake up everyday
Con la esperanza y el deseo de seguir luchando
With hope and the desire to continue fighting

Mis hijos, son las tres estrellas que iluminan mi vida
My children are the three stars that illuminate my life
la razón de mi vivir en este agobiado tiempo que estamos viviendo
the reason to live in this overwhelming time we are living

Enseñarles a volar fue mi norte…
To teach them how to fly was my north…
No verlos, para mi es terrible no abrazarlos
To not see them, for me, it is terrible to not hug them

La incertidumbre de esta pandemia me quema
The uncertainty of this pandemic burns me
Pero los bendigo cada día y les repito
But I bless them everyday and repeat to them

Te amo hijo mio. Te amo Hija mia
I love you my son, I love you my daughter
Porque se que algun dia estaremos juntos
Because I know one day we’ll be together
Y rezo por ello
And I pray for that

Elevo mi mirada al cielo y seguiré rezando
I lift my gaze to the sky and keep praying

Hasta que los vuela ver nos volvamos abrazar
Until I will see them again and we can hug again
Esta pandemia loca esta incertidumbre terrible
This crazy pandemic, this terrible uncertainty

Dios los Bendiga hijos míos
God Bless you my children