Ni De Aqui Carpetas
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Sonríe Más

Photography

Sonríe Más (2024) includes Karina Gudino as the central figure, embodying a powerful critique of a common dicho that translates to “smile more.” This phrase has long been weaponized against women, used to uphold unrealistic standards of femininity, docility, and perfection. Rooted in patriarchy, it encourages women to mask discomfort, pain, and anger in favor of appearing approachable, agreeable, and attractive, particularly to men. This work rejects that harmful expectation and instead offers an honest visual commentary on the emotional toll of people-pleasing and performative happiness.

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In the photograph, Karina does not smile. Her expression is direct; not angry, but visibly disappointed. Her gaze meets the viewer’s as if asking, “Why do I need to smile more?” Her refusal to perform happiness becomes an act of defiance against the cultural conditioning that demands constant pleasantness from women. Rather than participating in the illusion, she confronts it head-on, exposing the exhaustion and insincerity that comes with the pressure to constantly meet society’s expectations.

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Surrounding Karina are smiling balloons, exaggerated and artificial, symbolizing the culture of performative joy that permeates not only real-life interactions but also through social media. These balloons represent the false cheerfulness women are often expected to uphold in order to be accepted, liked, or loved. ​

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This work challenges this narrative and offers an alternative message for future generations: you don’t owe anyone a smile. The artwork tells women that it’s okay to show their full selves, not just the polished, palatable version that society prefers. Through Karina’s role in the image, the piece becomes an empowering act of refusal, a statement that emotional honesty is more valuable than forced perfection. 

Sonríe Más.jpg

ARTWORKS FROM THIS INSTALLATION

LENGUAS

DELICADA

LO QUE UNA VEZ FUE DELICADO SE CONVIERTE EN SÓLIDO

SOLO VENTANAS

CORAZÓN DE NOPAL

CACTI

IZQUIERDA

Delicada

ME QUIERES MUCHO, NO ME QUIERES NADA

Me Quieres Mucho, No Me Quieres Nada (2026) is an installation I constructed during my month-long residency at Casa Lü in Mexico City. The work is an abstracted self-portrait built from the emotional residue of the last several years, my experiences within a past relationship, betrayal, sexism, comparison, questions about my cultural identity, and the complicated feeling of being loved by people who no longer seemed to like, understand, or accept me.

 

I was thinking about what it means to be “liked, but not liked.” To once feel wanted by the people I loved and then experience rejection, comparison, criticism, or dismissal from those same people. 

 

I approached this installation much like I approach filmmaking. Coming from a cinema background, I think of this body of work as a film. There are characters, textures, color palettes, compositions, objects, symbols, and a soundtrack. The installation is accompanied by a five-minute poem that must be listened to while moving through the space, making the viewer not simply an observer, but part of the narrative and a forced listener to this specific story. 

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Every element carries a piece of the story. The cacti, thorns, tongues, lace, windows, architectural forms, and the color pink become characters within this emotional landscape. Pink is deeply connected to the visual landscape of Mexico, its architecture, cars, clothing, and everyday environments, but it has also become a color which I identify myself with in my artwork. I wanted the color to be "too much", because I've been told that I am too much. Instead of letting that hurt me, I do it purposefully in this work. It's a color so obvious that you can't help but see it, its presence. 

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Returning to Mexico allowed me the opportunity to reclaim my narrative and to reconnect with materials, soil, thorns, textures, colors that connected to my identity. Working with these materials became unexpectedly therapeutic. I could experiment, make mistakes, be excessive, be angry, be tender, and, most importantly, make whatever I wanted, which is a very normal part of expressing oneself in a healthy and artistic way. Me Quieres Mucho, No Me Quieres Nada is stubborn, vulnerable, angry, playful, ugly, but also beautiful. It's a self reflection of not being perfect, but being honest. I have expereinced many ugly things, but I have also experienced many beautiful things. It is a space where I allow myself to remember what happened, grieve what I lost, and confront what still hurts.

 

I heal through making art; I take what I cannot always say and give it a physical form. Although this installation comes from my own experiences, I hope that its emotional honesty creates a space for others to recognize something of themselves. To feel heard, to feel seen, to confront their own pain, and perhaps to begin healing.

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