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Artist Profile

Alej Martinez

Studio Resident (2024-26)

NAR Resident(2018–2019)

Mixed Media, Performance, Playwright, Writer
Statement of Work

I occupy and write from depths of the in-betweens, where unconventional identities are violently displaced, where the cacophony of silence resonates the echoes of forgotten words and ancestral echoes, and where ideas of togetherness ripple beyond themselves. Here in the edge, I write thoughts of futures in which the practice of vulnerability is a portal to divine timing and misconstrued grammar. Dismemberment is a central tool, a process from where I examine the self, the collective, and the other. Language is another tool I use to understand the mechanics of reality, and I nurture these through my work. In my practice, I explore diverse mediums and processes beyond graphite and ink, including drag performance, visual arts, and unconventional use of makeup and found materials. This interdisciplinary approach allows me to blur boundaries between traditional and contemporary art forms, reflecting my commitment to innovation and self-expression. On this edge, I am both sound and whisper. Here, amidst s and the cadence of ancestral accents, weaving a tapestry of truth and story.

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The artist’s role is to move us from the singular to the collective. So it is in the vulnerability of my practice that I attempt to create resiliency and sustainability for the spaces I dare to imagine.

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