The title of Juana Francisca’s first book, the ‘Self-Portrait’, gives an idea of her approach to art and life in general. This is a woman who believes that ‘art is not made by humans, but rather by God’s will’. As a result of this, she has chosen to focus on the human being as an end rather than an effect or product of art. Through her essays, her writing, and her portraits, she seeks to demonstrate that each of us is ‘made’ or ‘made-for’ different, and that each of our station in life is dictated by circumstances outside of ourselves, by what we are made for.
In her essay entitled ‘The Art of Being Tall’, she presents an argument against those who would suggest that height is inherent or genetic. Height is not something we were born with it being instead a product of environment and human development. As such, one should not expect someone who is ‘very short’ or ‘very tall’ to have any ‘identity’. Similarly, those who argue that height is genetic are quick to point out that no one can look exactly like Jesus, or indeed, any other person they have seen, since everyone is different, genetically. Finally, there is the issue of gender. As Juana points out, the physical construction of male and female bodies are so different that the two genders cannot be compared, biologically speaking.
The essays included in this volume, along with those included in her later works, deal extensively with topics such as nationality and ethnicity, as well as the nature of ‘ethnicity’ itself. She demonstrates through her writing that race is not necessarily a biological distinction, but an identity which can be generated through a social construction process. Her arguments, based on examples from the lives of her own family members, further support the view that the self, as an individual, is infinitely malleable, in that it is possible to alter it, making one’s identity constantly adaptable, regardless of age, gender, race, or even nationality. By examining human growth and development across the chronological span of history, and looking beyond the personal perspectives of our own families, Juana Francisca provides much valuable insight into the often misleading views we have of the way human beings grow and develop.