Cholo Cardenas’s thesis is a series of narrative paintings that uses personal experience as a reference to portray a journey of human interaction in a society unaccepting of non-binary gender. Through storytelling, a tool that he  has long been using in exploring and developing his art, this work is a visualization of how these perceptions have molded him into who he has become. 

                In this  series, Gynandromorph butterflies is used as a visual metaphor for people who freely represent themselves in a world where all individuals are loved and accepted regardless of their gender identity, and whether or not it is aligned  with their assigned sex at birth. This Eden is then disturbed once a group of its own kind, bearing the weight of conflicting societal conventions, transforms the world into a dystopia.

               This thesis intends to induce self-examination from the viewer, provoking reflection on the roles of each person  in the bigger picture of society. Ultimately, this thesis aspires to spark realizations and conversations on empathy--a reminder that we are all but parts of the same painting.