Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
Image 1 of 1
16” x 20”
Encausticbord
Acrylic | Marker | Mirror
During the creation of this series, there were many frustrating times for me. There were times when I would anger at events from long ago, anger when reading about the Ponce Massacre in 1937 or the Utuado Uprising in 1950, where the U.S. bombed the people of Puerto Rico in the towns of Utuado and Jayuya (the only time in history where the U.S. Government bombed its own people). The details of those texts opened the door to raw emotions for me. How do I reconcile with past events that have clearly affected my life when examined closely? In these works, I let go of my control, I let my emotions take over. While these works step “outside the lines” and are crude in their depiction of faces. I wanted the viewer to be able to see (literally) themselves in the works, hence the mirrors where eyes should be. My hope was simple: I wanted them to see human eyes, their own eyes, in the work. I wanted them to see a soul, a life, a dreamer, an artist, a mom, a dad, a grandfather, or a grandmother. When all the intimate details of our own lives are removed, we are left with roughly the same physical attributes of skin and bones. I hoped to provide an opportunity for the viewer to connect with the “savages” that are the Indigenous Puerto Rican, in hopes that they find there are more similarities than differences between us all.
16” x 20”
Encausticbord
Acrylic | Marker | Mirror
During the creation of this series, there were many frustrating times for me. There were times when I would anger at events from long ago, anger when reading about the Ponce Massacre in 1937 or the Utuado Uprising in 1950, where the U.S. bombed the people of Puerto Rico in the towns of Utuado and Jayuya (the only time in history where the U.S. Government bombed its own people). The details of those texts opened the door to raw emotions for me. How do I reconcile with past events that have clearly affected my life when examined closely? In these works, I let go of my control, I let my emotions take over. While these works step “outside the lines” and are crude in their depiction of faces. I wanted the viewer to be able to see (literally) themselves in the works, hence the mirrors where eyes should be. My hope was simple: I wanted them to see human eyes, their own eyes, in the work. I wanted them to see a soul, a life, a dreamer, an artist, a mom, a dad, a grandfather, or a grandmother. When all the intimate details of our own lives are removed, we are left with roughly the same physical attributes of skin and bones. I hoped to provide an opportunity for the viewer to connect with the “savages” that are the Indigenous Puerto Rican, in hopes that they find there are more similarities than differences between us all.