"Leal’s work suggests that our ability to love and be loved is informed by our perceptions of the many relationships we hold, and defines how we move through space and time. Leal uses the camera to reveal the interconnectedness between place, identity, and proximity and how their correlation affect feelings of acceptance, belonging and desire.
She often incorporates Latin diasporic themes associated with her upbringing by Immigrant parents in South Florida. Using those she is the closest to to highlight how often the perceived is personal, even if from afar. One of her ongoing projects explores the cultural rift between personal identity and perceived identity as it relates to place. Almost entirely rooted in Miami, where her mother and paternal grandparents migrated to from Argentina and Cuba respectively, she deems mutually exclusive ‘togetherness’ and ‘otherness’ using family as subject."
– Daniela Leal