Description of Work

Untitled  - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Untitled (1) - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Untitled (2) - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Untitled (3) - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Untitled (4) - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Untitled (5) - 2022 - Collagraph, Etching - Not For Sale

Parroquia, Puerto Rico - 2022 - Ceramic - Not For Sale

Loiza, Puerto Rico - 2022 - Ceramic - Not For Sale

Mayohuacán - 2022 - Ceramic - Not For Sale

Castillo San Cristóbal, San Juan, Puerto Rico - 2022 - Ceramic - Not For Sale

Iglesia de San José, San Juan, Puerto Rico - 2022 - Ceramic - Not For Sale

Artist's Statement

I create sculptures of objects that are based on my Puerto Rican heritage; specifically my interpretations of objects of necessity or utility I have seen in the streets when I visit. My work aspires to gain a greater understanding of my own identity as I explore these objects as formal sculptures and prints. The collision of these elements into compositions tells a narrative of the compartmentalization of my ideas and emotions towards my culture, functioning as both closure and growth. Collage and assemblage are deeply rooted in the way I conduct my research when I visit Puerto Rico. The photographs I take become objects of their own, and extensions of this interpretation. Each element carries symbolic weight and functions in direct commentary to my relationship of self.

My work functions autobiographically; each of the objects I'm compelled to recreate are a part of a symbolic language. Historical and current events such as; Puerto Rico’s creation of Bomba^[1], the impact of natural disasters on the people, colonialism, and their strong notion of nationality drive my research. The abstracting and collaging of these photo references into ceramic sculptures and collagraphs^[2] helps me contextualize this part of my identity in ways that allow me to be proud of the culture I once felt I couldn’t call my own.

As a Puerto Rican growing up in the states, I have always been at odds with my own identity. Growing up within the Puerto Rican diaspora^[3] made me feel less than my counterparts relative to me in the states or back on the island. During my childhood, I always heard my family refer to themselves as Nuyoricans^[4] and I always thought it was a fun nickname to describe where they were from. It wasn’t until I was much older that I realized this was a catch-all phrase defining exactly where we were not from, Puerto Rico. While for some in the states, this is a label of pride, in the past I have had a hard time ignoring the negative connotations and contempt I have received in and out of the states. Other Puerto Ricans would often feed me the line “You are just not a real Puerto Rican”. I’d felt that if I talked about or acknowledged my affiliation to Puerto Rico that I was appropriating my own culture. The Americanization and loss of my ethnic identity for many years left me feeling resentful and in shame. Only through visiting and researching Puerto Rico’s history could I begin to feel any claim towards who I really was.

Community is a staple of Puerto Rican identity; it is etched into our way of life because history has divided Puerto Ricans against themselves for so long. This was something I couldn’t understand until I’d experienced community within ceramics and printmaking and understood the impact the collective could have on the people. The reflection of these experiences and the convergence of elements created a shift between who I was and who I am now. My sculptures have become narrative composites of those items and their importance to me. My prints function as landscapes and silhouettes of time passed and new beginnings. A reflection of the accrual and organization of objects needed to rationalize my place on the spectrum of my own ethnicity.

^[1] Bomba was created by the enslaved ancestors of Puerto Rico initially as a form of communication through dance where the music is made to the rhythm of the dance rather than dancing to the music, but now operates as a vital root of what we now know as the island's cultural expression.

^[2] Collagraph is a print process using found material to create a low relief textured plate.

^[3] The Diaspora is a term coined to large groups that migrated from their homelands to settle in new areas.

^[4] Nuyoricans is a term given to any Puerto Rican and their descendants that migrated to the states.

If you wish to purchase any of these pieces, please contact the gallery director, Jacqueline Nathan (jnathan@bgsu.edu.)