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Abstract

Mylan Nguyễn is a Dallas-based artist of Mexican and Vietnamese descent, who uses her multimedia practice, inclusive of ceramics, risograph printing, and illustration, to create whimsical worlds that are infused with symbolism and characterized by transformation. Inspired by the concepts of Nahualismo, a Nahuatl cultural practice that involves human to animal shapeshifting, Nguyễn’s works are populated by shape-shifting humans, animals, and nature. Drawing on a Nahualismo perspective that emphasizes healing and interconnectivity, Nguyễn’s understanding of the concept aligns with Gloria Anzaldúa’s discussion of nagualismo. Coupling Nahualismo and creativity, both Nguyễn and Anzaldúa invite audiences to bridge the divide between humans and nature by locating interconnections across species. Nguyễn’s art and Anzaldúa’s writing unsettles hierarchical thinking that places humans above other-than-humans to offer audiences transformative models for human/other-than-human relations. To draw connections between these two creators, I analyze Nguyễn’s artwork and Anzaldúa’s published and unpublished writings to explore the questions “In what ways does Nguyễn depict transformation in her artwork,” “How does pairing Nguyễn’s and Anzaldúa’s works illuminate the relationship between human and other-than-human subjects involved in these transformations?,” and “How can audiences learn from Nguyễn’s and Anzaldúa’s discussion of transformation?” As such, I identify commonalities between their visual and written works as well as the additional considerations Nguyễn’s art offers to Anzaldúan theory.

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