Anna Jaquez is an El Pasoan whose life growing up in a Mexican-American family along the U.S./Mexican border provides the inspiration for her work. Mexican folklore and traditions are the core of her intricately fashioned sculptures which function much like toy theater: a miniature "stage" is created within an architectural form, encouraging the viewer to stoop and peek within with childlike imagination.

Lit from within, Jaquez's works reveal rooms warm with domesticity, populated with furniture that communicates unity and the importance of family. There is a tension, however, created by distorted angles of floors and walls which create a sense of insecurity.

The artist states that "My depiction of rooms with forced perspective, color and lighting illustrates the tension between security of the home and childhood fears." Jaquez has been included in numerous exhibitions of Chicana and Hispanic art. She received her M.A. in metals from the University of Texas at El Paso and her B.F.A. from New Mexico State University.

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