In Found in Translation, Elizabeth Lancaster explores the nuanced experience of being a second-generation Mexican American. Her work serves as a visual bridge between the rich culture and history of her heritage and the second-hand nature of those memories, having been raised in a white-forward city.

Inspired by stories of her father and his family’s life as immigrants from Mexico, Lancaster weaves together watercolor and oil paints to depict narratives of poverty, hardship, and a steadfast commitment to family and faith. By incorporating bold colors and intricate patterns, she creates a striking juxtaposition against the "black and white" nature of her father’s history. The resulting series is a dual exploration of the joyful and the somber, the colorful and the achromatic—a reflection of how these ancestral stories and her own cultural identity manifest in her mind.