Biography

Vanessa Saavedra (b. 1997, Jalisco, Mexico) is a 2D artist raised in Heroica Nogales, Sonora, along the U.S.-Mexico border. Saavedra’s paintings and drawings give voice to the silenced lives of women across Latin America, addressing themes ranging from individual victims of harassment to those of femicide. Through her work, she explores oppression, absence, lack of legal action, and, more recently, the memorialization of lives lost to gender-based violence.

Her work is deeply influenced by her Mexican-American identity and her perspective on the current socio-political environment, particularly in relation to systemic patriarchy. Her latest project, México Rojo (2020-2024), focuses on the history of feminism and femicides within the Mexican community, serving as a testimony for the victims.

Since 2017, Saavedra has exhibited her work both nationally and internationally. Her pieces have been featured in exhibitions such as Son de Allá, Son de Acá at the Chicano Park Museum in San Diego, CA, and Re-Imagine at the Pink Collar Gallery in the UK. In 2021, she was featured on the cover of the Journal of Creative Geography. She earned an Associate in Fine Arts from Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona (2019) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2D Studio Art from the University of Arizona (2021). Saavedra is currently pursuing an MFA in Painting and Drawing at the University of Arizona.

Artist Statement

I am a Mexican-American artist, and my work is deeply shaped by the socio-political realities of the U.S.-Mexico border. Raised in Nogales, Sonora, I use my art to directly address the intersection of gender-based violence, systemic patriarchy, and the cultural complexities of border life. Through painting, drawing, and mixed media, I turn statistics into stories that demand recognition.

Since 2020, I have focused on feminicidio (femicide), a term that describes the killing of women because of their gender. The tragic femicides of Ingrid Escamilla and Fatima Cecilia in early 2020 led me to channel my outrage into visual protest, using my art to explore these critical themes.

I combine realism with surrealist elements to convey the emotional weight of contemporary issues. Using oil paint, acrylics, charcoal, and pastel, I explore presence and absence. In my piece Firmes (Las Abanderadas), for example, I depict an honor guard of Mexican women holding flags. Only their uniforms remain, suspended in midair, representing the void left by the victims and the unresolved violence surrounding their disappearances.

Through traditional media, I challenge viewers to confront the cultural and societal forces that allow such violence to persist, giving form to what is often invisible or unspeakable, and making it impossible to ignore.