Student Spotlight: Mónica Félix '20

The Student Spotlight series aims to highlight the work of current MFA students, asking them to share thoughts on their practice by answering curated and peer-submitted questions.

Mónica Félix ‘20 is an MFA Visual Arts student studying photography in her first year.

What themes or subjects are you currently addressing in your work?

I am a woman born and raised in a charmingly tropical and horrifyingly colonized Caribbean island. I come from a place that’s easily misunderstood and forgotten. I tell stories about being invaded, idealized, angry, uncertain, vulnerable, female, island and migration.
 

Are there any themes or materials you’re interested in exploring in the future?

What is being addressed right now in my work has been growing for the last 10 years. I aim to continue growing in this path and see where it takes me.


What challenges do you face in your practice?

Being in a space in between is a position I am very familiar with. My biggest challenge at the moment is the portrayal of what I want to convey and how to put that in a historical position so it becomes part of the conversation. General aesthetics of the image vary to serve the story—they are the means within the medium to reveal a wide range of feelings from intimate to uncomfortable.
 

What artists or works inspire you? 

I understood what love of art was when I saw installation work by Pepón Osorio and a painting by Myrna Báez. I do artwork alongside contemporary and visionary artists like Sofía Maldonado, Frances Gallardo and Osvaldo Budet.
 

What has been your favorite class at Columbia so far?

Group Critique is really the most fascinating thing at the moment. I’ve never had the opportunity to speak closely, in detail and in depth about a work of art, a process or an idea to be explored.

More information about Mónica and her work can be found at her website.