Lupita Murillo-Tinnen

Lupita Murillo Tinnen, Nuestra Artist Collective member, was born in Fort Worth, Texas. She serves as Dean of Fine Arts and Education at Collin College in Plano, TX. From 2005-2016, she was a Professor of Photography at Collin College. Tinnen earned a Ph.D. in Aesthetic Studies at the University of Texas at Dallas. Her dissertation addressed the historical portrayal of immigrants in documentary photography, the use of the photograph for social advocacy, and defined methods for the post-documentary. She holds an MFA in Photography from the University of North Texas and a BA in Photography from Texas A&M-Commerce. Her work has been exhibited widely across the United States.

From her Artist Statement
Crossing
Throughout my photographic career, the subject of my work has been the Mexican immigrant community. It is special to me because my parents are Mexican immigrants. I first began documenting my family and neighbors on the south and southeast side of Fort Worth, TX in 1995. My most recent work continues to focus on the immigrant, but I chose to bring attention to the crossing of the border and being from two places. These dream-like images focus on the border landscape, the blending of cultures, and the laborer. I started the images with scans from negatives I took in Mexico in 1997. I never did anything with the images until now. Most of the immigrants that I photograph came to the United States for work and have lived in the US for 30-40 years, which means that they have lived most of their lives away from Mexico. More recently we hear about the millions of immigrants from Central American countries crossing the border. These digital collages are an homage to immigrants that come to the United States by any means necessary, risking their lives and leaving behind countries and families that they love, to find a better life.

Visit lupitatinnen.wordpress.com for her full bio and works.