Ashley Melendez

This installation piece explores Melendez’s relationships with value and what that means to her. Through collecting found objects and cyanotype printing on different materials such as notebook paper, receipts, and 3D objects, she values things that are usually discarded by translating everyday materials into precious objects.

She combines text, archival images, and self-portraits to reflect on her life and morals as she navigates her adulthood. Including a lightbox pushes the audience to see something within her that she’s been hiding, showing the trust she has with others by communicating her thoughts through her work. This installation piece will change every day to include daily discoveries and represent growth.

Ashley Melendez (b.2003) is a Puerto Rican/Salvadoran multidisciplinary lens-based artist from the Bronx, New York. Her work centers around the importance of memory, representation, and how identity is shaped through culture and society.