Methodology

ALEX

Both in research and in artistic practice, finished works tend to circulate while the processes of mediation and translation that produce them often remain invisible. Creating a repository—an open archive—of one story from Sucúa Haven (Alex) will allow us to observe its processes and methodological decisions through the lens of translation studies. 

Sucua Haven mobilizes a range of media and methods—including interviews, photography, written short stories, ethnofiction, installations, and performances—this section seeks to make visible the authorial decisions, aesthetic transformations, power and collaborative dynamics, and possible biases that could influence the translation of lived experiences into artistic and narrative forms.

Interviews & Transcripts

Context: Since 2023, I have conducted interviews and informal conversations with Alex Guznay regarding his personal experiences and perspectives on Ecuadorian migration and the realities of the community in the Greater New Haven, CT area.

At the time, I was an Artist and Practitioner Fellow of the Mellon Foundation at the Race, Indigeneity, and Transnational Migration Research Center at Yale University, a three-month program. Alex was serving as a City Elder for the City of New Haven and was also a student in the Political Science program at Yale.

Our first meeting took place in a coffee shop to introduce myself and my research interests on Ecuadorian migration, identity, and belonging. The second meeting was held at City Hall, followed by a staged photography session there.

At that stage, the project was still developing. While its themes and use of photography were clear, its format had not yet been defined.

In the summer of 2024, we took an informal walk around Fair Haven and conducted a photo-elicitation session, using the images previously taken, at Yale University to begin defining a character in Sucúa Haven inspired by and co-created with Alex.

By then, the project had begun to take shape as an ethnofiction.

By that time, Alex was no longer serving as a City Elder, and I continued developing the project independently with the support of the community.

Photo Gallery