What Remains is an ongoing series of memorial portraits inspired by the traditional form of Mexican papel picado. I translate real photographs of immigration enforcement and loss into designs that can be cut using a cutting machine.

Papel picado is fragile by nature, it is also communal. It is meant to be hung, to move with air, to be seen strung together. In this form, these images shift from something consumed in passing into something to pause and hold.

I grew up watching my grandmother and her friends make things together; crocheting, sewing, figuring out how to mend the world around them. Making was how they supported each other and made sense of the world. This project comes from that same place.

The What Remains templates are free to download and use with cutting machines for personal and community projects, including classrooms, religious groups, and shared spaces. They may NOT be sold or used commercially, and all images remain under copyright. These designs are offered as a way for people to gather, create, and remember together.

For banners or wall hangings, cardstock provides the strength needed for display. Use them to make something of your own. Hang them in your home, wear them on a t-shirt, or share them with others. I will continue adding new portraits as this project grows.

If there is someone who should be remembered, or if you know the family of someone represented here, please email gutierrez.aless@gmail.com with the subject “What Remains- Contribution”.

When you create something, share it using #WhatRemains so it can become part of this growing collective memorial.

 This is a project about making, remembering, and holding space for what remains.

— Alessandra