I use the image of swaddled babies, which is a tradition from my native Ecuador. A tightly wrapped baby placed into an oversize shawl or blanket and strapped onto the mother’s back is a familiar scene throughout the Andes. These “guaguas” or “thumb babies” in my work suggest a blank slate, ready to witness and experience cultural encounter and question issues of nature versus nurture. I also use humor and memory to communicate the culture-driven displacement and alienation we often experience in our changing world.