NYSSA

LOCATION: San Antonio, Texas

This portrait, painted directly onto the Christopher Columbus Italian Society parking lot next to the inlet structure of San Pedro Creek, alludes to the diverse populations of San Antonio.

Nyssa is a 10 year old “mestiza” girl who I chose to be the model for this intervention. The chosen location is important on different levels: for many years it was a racial dividing line that will now  become a pivotal area of social cohesion after the completion of the San Pedro Creek Cultural  Park. Part of the parking lot where the “Nyssa” painting was created had been excavated by archeologists who have found proof that this was most likely the original location of the first San Antonio settlement by Spanish missionaries. The piece looks to the future of San Antonio based on the concept of “mestizaje” and cultural exchange.