Keychain Viewers is a project showcasing colorful images within the physical framework of 40 keychain-viewers filled with images of Los Angles, California, the place where my family and I grew up. I see these keychains as portals through time: I cannot visit this location due to pandemic health restrictions, but I can keep these objects with me and share and display them with others to experience the memories associated with them.
I create the physical and cultural formation of place as I document the city of Los Angeles, California and Hispanic communities as an ever-changing landscape resulting in vernacular photographs. I also aim to showcase my demographic and culture in hopes to inspire others of the same lineage to share theirs; That the underrepresented may become represented.
I have experimented with physical forms of photography and the accessibility of my work in the time of a pandemic; keychains that can be sent through the mail. These forms present the work in an educational and story-telling method and I invite the audience to participate with the objects and view these pieces of documentation through my lens.
