Berenice Chavez, a recent Eastern Oregon University graduate, is a Mexican-born and American-raised photographer. She began photographing her immediate and extended family after hearing that her mother could be deported in the beginning of 2018. Now she photographs her mother every time she visits home. In this photograph, her mother is shown collecting bundles of chard at her sister’s farm in eastern Washington. The process of developing, proofing, editing, and printing the photographs are a way for Chavez to make up for the times she cannot be with her mother. Chavez combines candid snapshots of everyday family life and portraits of her mother to tell her story. For Chavez, the permanence of these images solidifies the life and identity her mother has made for herself in this country. They are proof that she belongs.
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