McKinna Salinas
Motherly Mirage, 2026
Acrylic on cradled birch plywood
16 x 12"

Artist Statement
My mother exists now as a mirage of the person who raised me, a presence I long to reach, but cannot. Alzheimer's Disease has stripped away memory, language, and autonomy. She is here but inaccessible.

When I look at her, I see my own childhood reflected back to me.. summer drives to the library, growing tomato plants in the backyard, adventures to art museums. She once understood me more deeply than I understood myself, and now her gaze passes right through me. Every day I'm grappling with the ache of loving someone who is both here and gone.

Artist Bio
McKinna Salinas was raised in Temecula, California and earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Studio Art from the University of California, Davis. She has lived in Philadelphia for the past five years and works as a sign artist. Outside the studio, she frequents John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge on a continuing quest to photograph her favorite duck, the Hooded Merganser. However, this pursuit has become more difficult after the refuge drained the lake for a major construction project.

Her work has traditionally explored the tension between human encroachment and environmental catastrophe, but more recently her practice has turned inward. She engages themes of grief and loss as she navigates her mother's decline from Alzheimer's Disease.