Anchor Baby

Anchor Baby is created with gouache and ink on a postcard. The phrase “anchor baby” is a commonly used, often derogatory term describing the phenomenon of immigrants having their first child in a new country in order to obtain birthright citizenship, helping secure legal status for the rest of the family.
The use of a postcard is intentional. Postcards are sent across places, reinforcing themes of travel, migration, and international exchange. The baby depicted is a self-portrait of my younger self. In the background, iconography such as a compass appears, while the child rests their hands on an anchor.
When the piece is rotated horizontally, the central anchor transforms into a bow and arrow, referencing cherubs, Cupid, and symbolically, my parents.