Elena Feijoo's work is generated from an overwhelming feeling of futility that results from her obsession to define a sense of self in a continuously shifting context. Drawing from a personal conception of identity within communities, The artist co-opts socially constructed roles of gender and culture that are used to determine one's belonging within differing but often overlapping communities and attempts to re-contextualize these constructs in order to fully define the elusive “authentic self”. Elena mediates the experience through the lens of an insider/foreigner mentality, information and material passing through her body as well as others to create a desired affect of inclusion and exclusion for the viewer. The process/materials to produce this body of work mirrors the uncomfortableness and unpredictability of its content, but often takes the form of sculpture, installation, performance, or video. Elena is Gallery Manager at Heaven Gallery and is completing her Masters at UIC