In the mid-1970s Rita Lemus immigrated to the United States from Guatemala as an orphan in search of a better life. Within a year of her arrival she found work as a housekeeper with Frank and Mary Pat here in Southern California. Their family provided consistent employment, but perhaps more importantly, they generously invited Rita into their home, and in many ways invited her into their family. Now for almost 40 years she has worked with the same family, and in that time she also raised up her own children, including her son, Nery Gabriel. Now artist Nery Gabriel Lemus looks back on his experiences growing up in this uniquely open and welcoming environment, and how these relationships shaped his own understanding and experience of racism and prejudice. Lemus employs a variety of strategies in this investigation, from a direct video interview with Rita and Mary Pat, to mining the family archives for images that reference the continued proximity of the two families, and text paintings that draw from such varied sources as funny childhood misconceptions, challenging cultural critiques, popular sayings, and Bible narratives. With these and other strategies Lemus builds on his previous oeuvre with new investigations of how these issues impact his own family story as they have sought acceptance in a foreign environment. Recalling the famous words of Christ, I Was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me challenges us to consider how simple gestures of generosity that bridge across social, economic, and racial boundaries, can help to break down barriers and offer hope to others in the midst of continued institutional opposition. By focusing his attention on his own family experience, Lemus avoids being drawn into a divisive debate, shifting the debate from a macro scale down to a singular narrative. He clearly asserts this work as one family’s story, but this is not to say there are not wider implications. Beyond garnering empathy, Lemus highlights how simple acts of generosity—in opening one’s home—had a profound impact on his own experience; challenging us to reconsider the words of Christ quoted from the Gospel of Matthew, and look again at the ways in which we all have opportunities to “welcome” those who are marginalized by society.
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