Using common objects that she recreates or reframes on a variation, Delano conveys narratives that are both critical and poetic. Often with humor and a touch of cynicism, the artist seems to invite us to reconsider the situations she presents, unequivocally revealing the power of symbols and their influence.

I remember we could only watch a VHS with Cartoon Network episodes looped and watch the movies my parents rented from time to time.

At that time (until I was 15 years old) we lived at the foot of a mountain. No internet, wild dogs, a neighbor, and a chocolatería that never accepted our little change. The films I remember watching were "The Piano Teacher" and another of which I don't remember the title, about a boy who had visibility problems. One day, the boy is with his newborn brother and his mom left a knitting stick next to the crib. Then Baam! The movie takes a turn, it's a new day and now the boy can see and everyone else in the movie is blind.

With my sister, we were always afraid to run in the night to my parents' cabin, which was one minute running from where I and my sisters slept. Their little house was surrounded by cacti, which my grandmother said was unlucky as having cactus in front of the house meant you would never find a husband. One night my sister and I ran in fear to my parents' house and she fell into the cacti. I tried to remove the thorns but each time I touched them they went deeper. I see thorns as time-travelers of bonding like a coat passed down from generation to generation eaten by moths in the closet, which you cannot let go.

Manuela Libertad Morales Delano, 2023