Exhibition | Una Pausa es Revolución | Studio Franca, Mexico City

For many people in Mexico, taking a pause is a luxury. When I worked in an office, I was entitled to six days’ holiday after a year of service. The most I ever accumulated was 12 days after several years’ work. It was also frowned upon to take consecutive days of holiday – it could be seen as a lack of commitment to the company. And yet, the company made me redundant without severance pay during the pandemic.

Newly unemployed, my metrics around free time began to shift. At first, I felt guilty for having too much freedom, guilty for not monetising my time. For the first time in my working life, I started to understand the senselessness of over-productivity, of over-consumption. I even questioned why I drank espresso in the morning and why meals had to happen three times a day for one hour at a time.

During all my years as an employee, since finishing university, I had never paused to question myself. Plugging straight into the system after graduating seemed like the best – and only – thing to do.

The system doesn't leave much room for taking a pause or for self-questioning. It takes a rise in prices or falling ill to enter an economic crisis, and to suddenly find yourself with the time to pause and consider different perspectives on your existence.

These clouds are a reminder not to forget to pause and question the reality we inhabit. I use clouds as a symbol: when we have the opportunity to look at them, we can understand why a pause is a revolution.

Exhibition at Studio Franca, Mexico City, from 14th May 2026. All works watercolour on paper.