Eliana Miranda
From D Magazine: Oak Cliff Art Activist Eliana Miranda Puts Climate Change Front and Center
By Desiree Gutierrez | April 19, 2023
Oak Cliff artist Eliana Miranda paints to prove climate change is here through her work. Miranda explores the intersection of climate change and migration through her research-backed art. Read the full article.
Artist Statement:
My work explores ecological disasters that stem from climate change and the influence on the migration of people headed towards the U.S./ Mexico border from Mexico, Central America, and South America. The narratives that I portray focus on human development and how it disproportionately affects the poorest communities of this region.
The social repercussions of being uprooted from an area known as a home are complex. Heritage, culture, survival, and spirituality play a major role in how people are connected to their land. When people migrate, connections and history get lost through assimilation after crossing borders. When addressing these topics, I use color and line as mechanisms to highlight the connections between people, their communities, and nature. I use traditional textiles to denote the history of a culture and to highlight the risk of losing it when land becomes uninhabitable. The figure is used as a way to acknowledge the ephemerality of human life. Uneasy outlines emphasize the uncertainty of a future whereas toxic-like vivid colors underline our ecological footprint.
Artist Biography
Eliana Miranda is a visual artist and co-founder of Nuestra Art Collective who currently lives in Dallas, TX. In 2010, she completed her BA from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. She obtained her MA in 2012 and an MFA in 2015 from the University of Dallas. She’s been in numerous exhibitions including Latino Americans 500 Years of History at the Idaho State University, Contemporaneous Commentary: Voices in the Current Sociopolitical Atmosphere at the Wichita State University, Intersections at the Texas Woman’s University, and the AMOA Biennial 600: Justice• Equality• Race• Identity at the Amarillo Museum of Art. She was one of the selected artists for the virtual residency with the Mexic-Arte Museum in Austin, TX., and the 2022 Texas Vignette.
Photos courtesy of the artist. Visit https://elianamiranda-art.com/ for more information.
