Vince Carballo calls himself "the kid who was teased because he spoke in a broken English-Belizean patois and who scraped and pulled his way through everything." But then, asks the senior in mechanical engineering, "What does any of that mean?"
Carballo explores that question with an exhibition titled "Lost Sons: Flatbush, The Real New York Experience," opening at the Wiesner Student Gallery (second floor of the Student Center) on Friday, Dec. 7.
A winner of MIT's 2000 List Foundation Fellowship in the Arts for Students of Color, Carballo, who is of Belizean descent, grew up in the Flatbush region of Brooklyn, N.Y. Incorporating a variety of media, including photography, watercolors, oil and acrylic paints, charcoal, ink and polyurethane, his works depict people and scenes around the Caton and Flatbush Avenue intersection.
"I wanted the audience to see the beauty and dark side of Flatbush," said Carballo. "I began this project thinking I would make beautiful colorful pieces ... but this is not what I found on my numerous visits ... There was always a sadness that cluttered my thoughts and eventually influenced my work."
The show runs through Friday, Dec. 21.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on December 5, 2001.
