Healing heritage: reflections from an artist-scholar at various intersections

In this autoethnographic photo essay, I frame heritage as a living, embodied, and healing force, mapping my personal trajectory of transnational migration, gender transition, and chronic illness across hemispheres. Central to this exploration is my project HAMPI, which directly contributes to diasporic heritage representations. Through this project, I conceptualize heritage as both ‘performance’ and ‘object.’ In my reflection, I activate the foundational Andean principles of yanantin (complementary dualism) and ayni (reciprocity) within my artist-scholar practice, highlighting how multimodal work can bridge existing gaps between institutional research and community-grounded knowledge production. Situated within ongoing conversations about the decolonization of anthropological practice, I advocate for sustained, reciprocal relationships between practitioners, institutions, and communities, recognizing the body itself as a site of heritage transmission and renewal.