Alexa Black: 5 of Blades / AIR, Wetplate Print 2024

PROJECT STATEMENT
NEPANTLA is an 80-image body of work created through the historic process of wet plate photography, exploring identity, power, and transformation through the ritual art of cartomancy. Inspired by queer Chicana feminist theorist Gloria Anzaldúa, Nepantla refers to the in-between space inhabited by those who embody multiple, intersecting identities—such as being mixed-race or gender queer—where constant transition cultivates a deep tolerance for contradiction.

Layered with the feminist theory of Kyriarchy, which maps shifting dynamics of power and oppression, the work examines how we relate to ourselves and one another within complex social and cultural systems. Through ceremonial imagery and symbolic language, NEPANTLA becomes a space of healing—reconnecting fragmented identities and invoking a sense of wholeness within the flesh.

This project stands as both reflection and reclamation, offering new pathways for embodied existence, spiritual reconnection, and collective transformation.

ARTIST BIO
Alexa Black is a multidisciplinary artist of Nahua, Maya, and Irish heritage, creating as a guest on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish peoples, including the Xwməθkwəyə̓’m (Musqueam), Skwxwú7mesh (Squamish), and Səílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.

Alexa’s work spans small- and large-format photography, graphite, and charcoal drawing, each serving as a medium to reveal the magic of unseen realms that exist beyond terrestrial and colonially defined boundaries. Her creative process is deeply rooted in the energies of her Indigenous ancestral territories, an animistic understanding of interconnectedness, and the transformative power of conscious healing.

In her recent body of work, Alexa delves into the reconciliation of fractured identities, reclaiming and amplifying the silenced voices of her matrilineal ancestors. Her art bridges past and present, weaving together lineage, memory, and spirit in a reclamation of cultural and personal histories.

A dedicated photographer since the age of 16, Alexa discovered her passion for the wet plate collodion process in 2015, sparking a profound connection to the alchemy of analog photography. She honed her drawing skills in 2022 through a nine-month sponsorship at the Barcelona Academy of Art. In 2023, she elevated her wet plate practice to crafting mammoth plates under the mentorship of acclaimed photographer, John Coffer.

Through her evocative work, Alexa invites viewers into liminal spaces where identity, memory, and ancestral reverence converge, offering a timeless exploration of connection, resilience, and transformation.

alexablack.ca