Elva Maria Salinas is an artist and an artistic educator currently living in San Antonio, TX. Elva grew up in Del Rio, TX, a small town on the U.S./Mexico border, which gave her a unique insight and perspective of both Mexican and American culture. Elva received an M.F.A in Photography in May 2013 from Texas Woman’s University. Previous to that, she earned a B.F.A in Photography at The University of the Incarnate Word in 2007. Since 2002, she has dedicated her creative vision to photography and mixed-media arts. Her background in fine art, chemistry and Latin American studies helped solidify a synthesis of artistic experimentation and the study of culture. Such interests underpin her intuitive visual experimentation with mixed-media processes in both traditional/contemporary photography and digital manipulation, accompanied by the investigation of human emotions and relationships in sociocultural contexts. Elva has a record of national exhibition and awards for her Fine Art.
Salinas’ most recent work explores cultural dynamics surrounding the identities of Mexican-American women. This work reflects upon the emotional dimensions of personal memories, collected histories, and cultural myths through digital photomontages integrating portraits of Mexican-American cultural icons and individual women. In this work, such imagery seeks to simultaneously deconstruct the origins of cultural ideology, and rebuild cultural ideals as empowering narratives.