This figurative duality, bold, sometimes frantic line work, and layered compositions are also strongly influenced by López’s struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. A chronically misunderstood and misrepresented mental illness, OCD is often carelessly used in everyday vernacular to describe one’s personality quirks. For those like López, however, with a clinical diagnosis, that cultural flippancy can be isolating and she strives to not only be visible, but to claim power in taking up space.

She utilizes the human figure and recurring motifs as a means of externalizing the often covert aspects of mental illness. In this exhibition, and in most of her practice, Lopez depicts scissors in relationship to and sometimes having wounded the figure. To her, this object is representative of the relentless, distressing, and violent thoughts that plague many OCD sufferers. However, amidst the chaos, absurdity, and sometimes violence depicted, her figures remain strong, nurturing, and tranquil.