Mónica Martínez-Díaz: The New House is Empty: Post–American Dream

Intimate portraits of the her subjects are intermixed with family mementos. Together, the portraits and objects create a dialogue between past and present, memory and material, inviting viewers to witness the layered experiences of migration, displacement, and adaptation. The work reflects on how memory and identity are preserved and carried across borders. The installation emphasizes the emotional resonance of “home” and how it exists simultaneously in the present, in memory, across distance, in tradition, and more.

The exhibition also include an installation featuring portraits of participants hands and handwritten letters addressed to their younger selves. Each participant is a first-generation immigrant in the United States of America and reflects on what advice would the tell their younger self about immigrating to the United States.