| Project Title | Drawing the Line: Art Beyond Fear, Protest Beyond Hate. The Act of ARTIVISM |
| Location | South Texas College, McAllen, Texas, U.S.A. |
| Date | November 2025 |
Artist Statement — JA Salas (b. 1970, Victoria, TX)
My work examines the cultural landscape of South Texas, where the ongoing dialogue between Mexican and American identities continually reshapes local life. I explore how politics, technology, and cultural blending influence everyday experience—altering traditions, personal histories, and how communities see themselves in the world.
Specializing in mixed-media figure and portraiture, I focus on the individuals who embody these transitions. I create large-scale paintings and life-sized murals that draw viewers into the work, encouraging them to move beyond observation and experience a sense of presence within the environment. Scale, space, and proximity become tools for immersion.
Visually, my compositions begin with restraint. I use minimal color and simplified backgrounds to prevent distraction and maintain emphasis on the figures. This approach foregrounds narrative and emotion, placing the human subject at the core of each piece.
Themes of identity, conflict, political tension, and interconnectedness guide my practice. I explore the spaces between presence and absence, memory and surveillance, belonging and displacement. My work reflects the subtle realities of daily life, quiet gestures, inherited beliefs, and contradictions that exist beneath the surface—inviting viewers to consider their own position within these cultural shifts.
Although rooted in current societal and cultural issues, my approach remains objective and unbiased. I aim for the work to resonate personally, offering familiarity, irony, and clarity. Ultimately, my art seeks to entertain, provoke thought, and foster reflection and connection.
Context Statement
Drawing the line: Art beyond fear and protest beyond hate—the act of Artivism. The project addresses ongoing issues of abuse and aggression by ICE agents against undocumented workers and American citizens who were falsely profiled and labeled as criminals to be detained and deported. The message is: “People before politics, end the hate. We must not be idle; we must not give in to this bullying of our citizens.” To visually convey this message, my artwork features a large figurative painting exploring the emotional and political issues surrounding immigration enforcement in the United States. It also features three protest flags with dramatic images from my character sketches that explore similar themes. These visuals aim to convey the subject’s narrative and to promote protest and awareness among a broader audience. To engage a wider audience, I have begun integrating research, collaborations, and exhibition planning to enhance the public impact of my work. Since the subject is controversial, managing these elements helps me navigate how to practice within broader social and political conversations and make informed decisions about sharing my work publicly.
I researched immigration-related events through articles, media reports, and first-hand conversations regarding ongoing issues with ICE agent abuse against citizens nationwide. I analyzed the impact on industries such as farming, construction, hospitality, and other service sectors. During this research phase, I also considered the visuals of my artwork. I tested materials and compositional structures, experimenting with scale, monochromatic backgrounds, and gestural figuration. Sketching became an essential testing ground for ideas, enabling me to analyze power dynamics, emotional states, and narrative. Before finalizing each painting, I approached every iteration as an experiment, applying critical judgment at each step to identify which visual strategies best conveyed the subject matter’s complexity.
The painting draws on professional influences, including figurative expressionism and conceptual traditions. It references artists such as Leon Golub, whose large, confrontational paintings are expressive figurative works that confront the dynamics of global power and its victims. This enhanced my understanding of professional practice by demonstrating how visual choices can deepen the conceptual significance of political urgency. Applying this knowledge, I developed my own strategies, such as using minimal backgrounds to focus attention on figures, deliberately spacing subjects to suggest psychological distance, and emphasizing facial expressions to convey ethical and emotional meanings. These decisions helped me translate complex ideas into visual compositions that audiences can interpret critically rather than passively. As my project developed, collaboration and visibility became crucial. I worked with Sylvia Studios on photography and videography, Ruby from Black Label Printing on flag production, and curators like Robert Codina and Cindy Galindo. These partnerships offered insight into the practical and professional aspects of exhibition creation, helping me refine display and narrative strategies to enhance the audience’s experience. Initially showcased at the Upper Valley Art League and later at South Texas College, the work’s format, installation, and interpretation deepened my understanding of how context, scale, and creation influence meaning. Throughout, I learned to communicate complex ideas visually, balancing research, experimentation, and professionalism. The project now functions as both an artwork and a platform for public engagement, promoting dialogue on immigration justice and human vulnerability in the United States.
Project Documentatiuon
South Texas College – Art Talk
Upper Valley Art League Gallery
Special Thanks,
I want to thank South Texas College and Professor Leila Hernandez for letting me present my work to her students. I also appreciate Upper Valley Art League and Robert Condina for displaying my pieces in their gallery. Special thanks go to Falmouth University, the Adrian Pipers, and my classmates for the opportunities and guidance that helped me complete this work.
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