DAPA: You have exhibited your work across the US, and your artistic practice has been largely based in both California and Chicago. What are some differences you've noticed in how your work is received (particularly in the respective Latinx communities)?

WC: When I first started my practice, one of the things I worried about (and felt pressured by institutions to do) was to make "universal” work. I felt that I couldn't do work revolving around my lived experience because the “universal experience” (and I think many will agree) centers a white male-centric perspective. Much of the canon I’ve been trained with is just that - white and male. When I finally started making work that was personal, it was often also about a geographic place. While living/working in Chicago, I thought I’d have a tough time showing my work, but it turned out to be somewhat different. The spaces felt open and many of the themes I’d been discussing in California, related to the dense Latinx communities of Chicago and New York. In the communities I exhibited in, I was often informing and being informed by my audience. I believe when making work about a place, many artists actively choose to not learn from that place and/or those who live/grew-up there. They take small pieces from media, TV, newspapers, popular culture and piece together a narrative that is objectifying to those same communities of color. So I always leave room for learning, being critical of my own positionality, and creating a narrative that is personal to the community I am observing. 

DAPA: What are some challenges of making work that serves communities of color while navigating within and against the photography canon?

WC: This a big one and glad you asked this because, in my opinion, the canon is dangerous and violent. I say this because it not only creates erasure, but given the history of photography, it has created injustices in communities of color. Being a photographer of color is already disrupting the status quo, and that is a challenge in itself. Perhaps I get chosen for an exhibition, not because of my work, but because of my identity. Perhaps I don’t get chosen for the same reason. A lot of my influences stem from the canon but through a critical lense, as my work is first and foremost about community. I don't like to romanticize the canon, because it’s just another system that needs to be dismantled. It's not so much about belonging in it, or changing it. Being critical about the canon is something that BIPOC have always done and will continue to do with mastery.