Page 26 - WTP Vol. V #2

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“This series investigates our culture’s percep- tion of ‘the other and otherness’ and how prescribed labels determine society’s behavior toward a social group because of race, gender, sex, class, and religion. When someone is per- ceived to challenge the dominant group’s values and beliefs, he or she is marginalized and exclud- ed. This exclusion leads to social groups without a political voice, with fewer rights, like not being able to marry someone who is the same sex, or people of different race and class not having the
right to vote.”
To explicitly challenge this notion, Madrid works
his painted portraits to engage the viewer about
their perceptions as to whether or not the sitter is of his own or an out- side group; whether the prescribed identity is embraced or falls victim to categorization.
Echoing the socially constructed identity of the sitter, the portrait, at rst, may seem disjointed; some areas are only partially complete, al- lowing for the viewer to ll in the blanks and derive a secondary mean- ing as to what the work may signify.
“Subconsciously, we create social categories and groups when we inter- act with someone else. During this interaction, one can either recognize our shared humanity and embrace diversity—ignoring the rhetoric to engage in productive discourse—or simply decide not to.”