MESILLA, NEW MEXICO — Casa Otro presents a series by Eva Gabriella Flynn titled Paper Town. The show opens May 15, 2026, with a public reception from 5–7 p.m. at Casa Otro in Mesilla, NM. The exhibition explores themes of place, memory, and mapping across the U.S./Mexico Borderland.
As part of the exhibition, Flynn will lead a free, public map-making workshop on Tuesday, June 2 from 5:30–6:30 p.m., inviting participants to explore personal notions of place and memory through accessible drawing techniques and the creation of individualized “maps” of meaningful spaces. The workshop is open to all; advance registration is required
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1988641611593?aff=oddtdtcreator
ARTIST STATEMENT:
In 1524, Europeans saw their first glimpse of the Americas through the Nuremburg Map of Tenotichtlan. Oriented with opposite cardinal directions, the map is rumored to have been based on an indigenous map of the city. The end result was a circular map that placed the Mexica capital at the center of the world.
Maps illustrate the traces we leave behind on the lands we inhabit. They chart natural landmarks, man-made monuments, and reveal what we most value of a place. The colonial history of the American Southwest is documented across maps that delineate boundaries and shaped the policies of the region. Using the language of cartography, Flynn creates a visual lexicon for the Chihuahuan Desert that subverts borders and reimagines the US/Mexico Borderlands through its cultural landmarks. Layered symbolism and coded iconography intertwine history with personal memory to chart physical and psychological landscapes on amate paper and canvas. Paper Town features a body of work that records stories of place, identity, and guides a way back home.
ARTIST BIO:
Eva Gabriella Flynn is a chicana interdisciplinary artist from the Borderlands. Her work weaves historical narratives and personal experience into the landscapes of the American Southwest with layered iconography and symbolism. She received her BFA in Studio Arts and a BA in Foreign Languages from New Mexico State University. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a concentration in Painting and Drawing. Eva Gabriella’s work has been exhibited nationally and internationally at the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (WI), Zhou B Art Center (IL), SITE Santa Fe (NM), Field Projects (NY), Western New Mexico University (NM), and Instituto de Lorenzo Medici (Florence, Italy).