Bitter

2025. Earthenware, slip, glaze, underglaze, cotton, orange crates.

The bourgeoisie in Europe have always had a fascination with citrus. Citrus growing in these inhospitable regions began as a hobby and a symbol for the elite. Through colonial expansion, the commercial farming of this fruit developed the landscape of settler identity. From the first planting in this country on Florida soil, the citrus industry has grown on the backs of the disenfranchised, while the citrus, and the highly designed crate logos, became symbols of propaganda for the fruits this new world would bear for the settler. This industry, built on immigrant labor, contrasts with the state’s harsh immigration policies. Alligator Alcatraz embodies these contradictions, deferring dreams and harming immigrants targeted by policy. As a self-portrait and national critique, I expose the personal, familial cost and irony of our reliance on those we oppress.