Glimpses of a Guatemalan Dreamer 2025
Johnny Castillo
Oil on Canvas
40" x 30" 
@j.castl

Glimpses of a Guatemalan Dreamer is an indirect self-portrait exploring identity, memory, and the immigrant experience. An industrial window layered with graffiti and stickers encodes my history as a Dreamer, referencing my Guatemalan home through symbols like the quetzal and monja blanca. Hidden in the graffiti and cast shadows are words like “other” and “chapín,” tracing my sense of belonging and origin. A blurred, abstracted reflection of myself in the glass merges viewer and subject, creating a meditation on visibility, displacement, and the ongoing negotiation of identity.