Tina Hernandez: Allegory of a Chicana

Tina Hernandez aka La Libertina was born in the border town of Brownsville, Texas but was raised in Houston as a first-generation Xicana/Tejana. She received her B.F.A degree in Photography/Digital Media in 2003 from the University of Houston. She is a self-portrait artist and has recently branched out to working with other women as the subject. Her work centers on being female and her Latinidad including the issues, questions, aesthetics, and greatness that comes with it. In 2019 she was awarded an SACI grant from the Houston Arts Alliance and the City of Houston for a project she is currently working on titled, Allegory of a Chicana. She is also a founding member of Manteca HTX, a city-wide artist registry built with the intention to connect audiences to Latinx Artists working in Houston's creative community.

BEF: Hey Tina! Thank you so much for taking the time to share with us your work and creative process. How is it going? Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

TH: Hola! I’m a first generation Tejana/Chicana. My parents are from Tamaulipas and I have many relatives in the Valley. I was born in Brownsville but raised here in Houston all my life. The only other place I have lived is Mexico City for a few years in my early 30’s. I am extremely proud of my roots and find so much inspiration within my own culture. Self-expression and learning through the arts has always been important to me. I remember jamming and singing my heart out to The Beatles when I was 4. I played the cello in middle school and I will never forget that musical experience. I went to DeBakey HSHP since I am also a goofy nerd but by the time I was in the 10th grade, I already knew I was going to college for art. Once college started, I was so excited to take all these art classes. I graduated from the University of Houston with a B.F.A. in photography in 2003.

BEF: Your work is heavily centered around self-portraiture, what attracts you to that style of photography?

TH: In my first photography class back in college when I was 19, I put on a wig, a tiara, and a long black dress and ever since then I’ve explored my womanhood through photography. It is fun, empowering, liberating, and challenging since self-portraiture is not easy. I got to explore so much through photography and have paid homage to the different styles that I love such as vintage photography, pin-ups, Mexican calendar girls, etc. while also paying homage to my cultural roots. As a young girl, I was never really taught how I could be as a woman or about womanhood but more so what I shouldn’t do. Because of that, a strong curiosity about womanhood was awakened at an early age. I’ve always admired the female form in art and photography throughout art history as part of that curiosity.

BEF: Can you talk about your artistic process and your approach to photography?

TH: Many times, I am studying a painting that I love and can’t help but connect it in one way or another through my heritage. Once I have picked out the painting that I want to re-appropriate, next I’ll start researching that cultural connection I found in the painting. I have learned many new things by researching! One element that keeps resurfacing is that many things link across cultures and continents, more than you think! Next, I’ll sketch and make a list of what props I need to create and objects I need to find for the portrait. I love the problem-solving part if this step because I have to figure out how in the world I’m going to create the prop I need. Once I start making the props, a lot of trial and error comes into play here as well as losing track of time since working with your hands can be meditative. This part is what takes the most time actually since certain props can take longer to make than others. Once I have everything ready, sometimes getting myself ready can take hours, it’s time to take the picture. Taking the actual photograph is what takes the least time. I’m probably in front of the camera for just an hour or less and I work totally by myself with help of my remote control. Then it’s editing time after that.

BEF: In your recent body of work, Allegory of a Chicana, you reference art history and more specifically, women in classical paintings. Can you tell us how this work and theme came together?

TH: While I admire so much the woman in art throughout art history, I also recognize that most of the women that are represented have been white-skinned women. So, there I go reimagining and recasting a Chicana in place! That’s right! I get a big kick out of appropriating things because I get to apply an unapologetic Chicana twist to it. I also love the style and aesthetics of different art movements. For example, I love how feminine the artistic movement of Art Nouveau is and how it ties in cultural and botanical motifs. “La Mujer de Maiz” portrait was inspired specifically by “Gismonda” by Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha. I retained that influence and used Ancient Mexican motifs and focused on the concept of being a mujer de maíz (maize woman) since my ancestors cultivated the corn. That’s my cultural connection to that piece. Another portrait “La Cempacihuatl” was inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite movement, another feminine and floral art style, specifically “Venus Verdicordia” by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. I wanted to use cempazuchitls/marigolds so I worked around that since marigolds are very symbolic for Day of the Dead, another cultural connection. The original painting depicts the goddess of Venus so I created this Mexican goddess character of life and death. This goddess was influenced by La Santa Muerte (Lady of Holy Death) and researched more about her since neither myself or any one I know prays to her. I have seen her many times since she is still a part of my culture, but I still didn’t know much about her. You definitely learn new things through research! I included some of her symbolism such as the sand timer and globe. Everyone’s time in this world will eventually run out, so you better life your best life.

BEF: How do you see this work evolving for you?

TH: I would like to be behind the camera more and have other women become a goddess or portray a strong female character for a day. I already have a project called Las Diosas/Goddesses brewing in my head. I’ve been doing self-portraits for over 20 years, and I know how empowering it can be. Since I mainly work alone, collaborating or having some help more often would be nice like involving someone with great makeup skills or another artist who has skill in creating floral headdresses. I will continue with self-portraits of course. Most of the scenes I create in a portrait has been from the waist up, I would like to challenge myself in creating whole body scenes. I am curious how my work evolves as I age since you mostly see a young female being represented in art.

BEF: Do you have any current or upcoming exhibitions you would like to share?

TH: Allegory of a Chicana is currently up at MECA , located at Kane Street. Unfortunately, because of the pandemic, the facility is closed to the public until the coast is clear. Whether the exhibition will be extended, I am not sure at the moment. I will be making a video about the project nonetheless so I will let you know when it is complete. The series is still ongoing until I have 12 images at least so I can make a calendar and a postcard set of the series. You can see my work on my website at www.lalibertina.com and you can follow me on Instagram @la_libertina where I like to post images of my process and of my art adventures. Stay healthy and safe everyone!

lalibertina.com

@la_libertina