His piece, Candelabro Lirio, presented for Homo Faber 2206, is about tracing a path through family history, memory and inherited forms. River’s great-grandfather came from Mexico to the USA, where his family eventually became Chicanos, rooted in Los Angeles. River spent most of his formative years far from this, living between Seattle and New York City. The experience led him to question how we can reconnect with the cultural histories that shaped us before we knew them. The work is an exploration of belonging through making, and a way of uncovering a lineage through familiar vernacular forms, decorative traditions and the physical act of creation itself.