Abortion #1 1999

This is a monoprint silkscreen mixed media piece that I created shortly after my first abortion.

At the time, I was deeply processing themes of death—the death of my old self. I had been abandoned by my lover, and going through the experience of having an abortion alone profoundly transformed me. It was painful and isolating, but it also made me stronger and shaped who I am today. I felt the loss of the pregnancy in a very real way, even though I never regretted my decision.

Back in 1999, I didn’t have the language to talk about abortion openly. The movements and campaigns that exist today to break the silence around our abortion experiences hadn’t yet emerged. There were few, if any, spaces encouraging honest conversations about it—it was still deeply stigmatized and shrouded in secrecy.

This painting became a way for me to process that pain. It also marked the beginning of my use of Aztec symbolism in my art, which laid the foundation for a broader integration of Indigenous imagery from the cultures I grew up with—especially those of Mexico and Peru.