"Delimitation /dəˌliməˈtāSH(ə)n/ (n) the marking or describing of the limits of something. Often the term is used as boundary delimitation, as in the drawing of boundaries.Alexandra Robinson’s solo exhibition, Delimitation: words to live by, uses both drawings and multimedia works to investigate ideas of identity and signifiers that question place and how one exists in that place. Through the boundaries of language, one can simultaneously belong or not. Robinson is deeply connected to the complex history of what it is to be Mexican-American (and one without language) and of Jewish heritage brought up in a most American institution, the United States Army. These edges challenge and reinforce Robinson’s sense of identity and are directly reflective of how generations of her family internalized what it means to be American. Robinson co-opts symbols in order to play with meaning. She is especially interested in an American ideology that was never meant for everyone even if multiplicity is the American experience. Through the use of Morse code, flag semaphore, and the flag form, Robinson appropriates symbols of American exceptionalism, which are informed by her upbringing and familiarity with military family life and American ideals. The work conjures ideas of nation, place, and becomes representative of identity. A relationship to power is also constructed when one considers who historically has used these forms of encoding, in this case, the U.S. Military. By presenting languages that are possible to translate, Robinson establishes boundaries, edges—a place of borders. Robinson takes inspiration from Gloria Anzaldúa’s Borderlands/La Frontera, in which the author explores borders in language, location and culture. Una herida abierta (the open wound) is the product of the friction of two worlds; one world grates against the other and bleeds, and, as a result, a third is created. About the artist: Alexandra Robinson is a visual artist who uses language and symbols in her creative practice. She grew up in the military and has lived all over the world; because of the semi-transient nature of moving every two years she has a longing for place and identity and explores these themes in her work. Robinson was raised with her immediate family; an intersection of her Mexican and Jewish heritage which has cultivated a complexity in how she sees and experiences the world. She earned a BA at the University of Saint Mary in Sociology and an MFA in 2D studies from the University of Cincinnati. She has exhibited widely in solo and group exhibitions; some recent selections include Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City; Salina Art Center, Salina; Lightwell Gallery at the University of Oklahoma, Norman; Urban Institute of Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids; Lawndale Arts Center, Houston; Mass Gallery, Austin; GrayDUCK Gallery, Austin; and The Contemporary Austin. Robinson is an Associate Professor of Art at St. Edward's University in Austin where she lives with her husband and two daughters.

About Women & Their Work: Women & Their Work’s mission is to foster the artistic growth of women artists by encouraging them to make new, adventurous work and to develop audiences for whom contemporary art is meaningful. For 43 years, Women & Their Work has been a cornerstone of the Austin arts community and has actively developed the careers of more than 1,900 women artists, presenting hundreds of visual art exhibitions, music, dance and theater events, film festivals and education programs. Nationally recognized for the quality of its work, Women & Their Work has played an important role in the development of the visual and performing arts in Texas. "