Charlene Batlle

The Splitting of the Chrysalis

This project tries to consolidate life in two different societies: a collectivist (Cuba) and an individualistic one (USA), while it expresses how having been exposed to both can impact the individual on a personal level. Migration from one to the other is often seen as an escape from communist oppression to freedom and democracy. But there is an internal process of metamorphosis that deeply affects identity. This project describes migration as a sort of splitting from the maternal source; a departure from what is known to the unknown. After the splitting of the chrysalis nothing will ever be the same, a transition from one life phase to another will begin inevitably.

Video, 2021