Alma Leiva
Courtney Williams
26 March 2015
CP 101-006
Alma Leiva Alma Leiva came to SIU to create the next project in her art series, “Celdas” (Prison Cells). Leiva was born and raised in Honduras, which is home to the city, San Pedro Sula, the murder capital of the world. While Leiva was studying in America, she learned her uncle was shot and killed in front of his family in that very city while on their way home from a soccer game. Her art is inspired by the crimes that take place in Honduras. She uses the Celdas as memorials for victims of violence. Each Celda represents a specific tragedy and tells the story of the victims’ murders. They also represent how immigrants who move from Honduras to America still feel the same fear and isolation they felt at home. Leiva juxtaposes indoor and outdoor environments in her pieces. For example, in Celda #8, which was created after the military coup in Honduras in 2010, Leiva uses soil to represent the element of mourning. To honor her uncle’s death, Leiva placed a soccer field in Celda #2. She also began to include specific Mayan gods pertaining to the story she was telling in her works. By Celda #11, Leiva had begun to explore the coping mechanisms people use when restricted by their circumstances, such as expression through art. It was an eye-opening experience to see Leiva’s works and how they represent only a small portion of the tragedies that take place everyday in Honduras.
26 March 2015
CP 101-006
Alma Leiva Alma Leiva came to SIU to create the next project in her art series, “Celdas” (Prison Cells). Leiva was born and raised in Honduras, which is home to the city, San Pedro Sula, the murder capital of the world. While Leiva was studying in America, she learned her uncle was shot and killed in front of his family in that very city while on their way home from a soccer game. Her art is inspired by the crimes that take place in Honduras. She uses the Celdas as memorials for victims of violence. Each Celda represents a specific tragedy and tells the story of the victims’ murders. They also represent how immigrants who move from Honduras to America still feel the same fear and isolation they felt at home. Leiva juxtaposes indoor and outdoor environments in her pieces. For example, in Celda #8, which was created after the military coup in Honduras in 2010, Leiva uses soil to represent the element of mourning. To honor her uncle’s death, Leiva placed a soccer field in Celda #2. She also began to include specific Mayan gods pertaining to the story she was telling in her works. By Celda #11, Leiva had begun to explore the coping mechanisms people use when restricted by their circumstances, such as expression through art. It was an eye-opening experience to see Leiva’s works and how they represent only a small portion of the tragedies that take place everyday in Honduras.