ARTIST STATEMENT
Inspired by everything around me, my prints reflect my emotions, my experiences, beliefs, and the way that I interpret them. The theme in most of my pieces, deals with issues that we as people experience, the way we question ourselves, and not just the burdens we carry but the things that make us happy. The theme in this work represents how we as women are put on display in every aspect of our lives.
One of the conditions I suffer from is called Crohn’s Disease. At my worst, I had doctor’s appointments every other week. Because I had two fistulas between my vagina and anus, I was always required to get on the examination table with my bottom half out in the open, exposed for the doctor and sometimes as many as three interns to examine. It was a horrible feeling to be looked at as if you were a lab project; it felt like I was constantly on display.
I use different mediums to recreate my works, such as acrylic on canvas and while I still love this medium, I have fallen in love with the Linocut printmaking process. Expressing myself through my art helps me deal with my disability by pouring my pain into my work. This helps me take my mind off of my illnesses and the chaos that they create in my life. I love the process of creating linocut prints because of how distinctively raw each print looks after drying.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Mildred Annani Mercado started painting with an old box of oil pastels that her father was going to throw out when she was 14 years old; she asked if she could have them and couldn’t stop. She is Puerto Rican and was born and raised on the south side of Chicago where she lives with her family. Annani is a mixed media Artist, Beekeeper, spoken word Poet, and was a Chef for 26 years. After 12 years of misdiagnoses, she was properly diagnosed in 2018 with Fibromyalgia and Crohn’s Disease. She took a step away from her art for a little more than 10 years. She decided to go back to school and earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology. During this time, she also began backyard beekeeping and creating art, realizing that like food for the body, she needed art to feed her soul! Expressing herself through her art help Annani deal with her disability, taking her mind off of the illnesses and the chaos they have created in her life. She believes in showing her children that there are healthier ways to deal with mental health issues. Inspired by everything around her, her art reflects her experiences, emotions, and beliefs and how she interprets them. The themes in her artwork deal with life, our burdens and how we carry them. She works with acrylics, gouache, oil pastels and has recently fallen in love with the Linocut printmaking process and how distinctively raw each individual print comes out.
© Mildred Annani Mercado