Dear Diary is a multimedia portrait rooted in memory, migration, and the fragile objects we carry when our lives are upended.

Created during a period of escalating violence and fear directed at immigrant communities in the United States, this work centers on a 13-year-old girl in her passport photograph—an image that became the foundation for the portrait of Claudia, a dear friend, neighbor, mother, musician, legal professional, and advocate for asylum seekers.

When I invited participants in my Community Portraits series to reflect on how they are processing this historical moment, Claudia’s identity as an immigrant and naturalized U.S. citizen was immediately at the forefront of her mind. She thought of the brave child she once was—the girl in the passport photo used as her family fled Peru after her parents were threatened with violence.

The materials in this piece are deeply personal and symbolic. Embedded in the composition are the few precious keepsakes she has from Peru--abstracted rosary beads inspired by the First Communion rosary Claudia carried with her—made from pressed rose petals—alongside a lace motif referencing a piece handmade by her mother. Pages from Claudia’s childhood diary form much of the background and even appear in the whites of her eyes, holding her inner voice, fear, resilience, and memory within the portrait itself.

The bureaucratic geometry of the passport stamp is softened and reimagined through hand-collaged lace—replacing cold authority with intimacy, care, and home. What emerges is a portrait that mourns the loss of place, culture, and childhood, while honoring the courage required to begin again and to make Chicago her adopted home.

Dear Diary is a personal offering and an invitation to see our neighbors from other countries not as abstractions or talking points, but as whole, complex humans whose lives and histories are incredibly inspiring.