"Giant Coral Stone" Sculpture

The term resilience has both practical and symbolic resonance. It applies to durable materials for building houses, and to durable people building communities. My work combines these resonances in recreating memories of the tropical environment so important to my upbringing. As a climate refugee in the wake of Hurricane Maria in 2007, I want to express how nature shaped my identity, now that I'm far from the island of Puerto Rico. The painting, abstract and organic, engages my spirit using references of the tropic microcosm and macrocosm. My color palette is similar to the landscapes and nature I grew up with. The blues and greens of the ocean and the yellows, reds, violets, and oranges of a sunset are the island’s lasting identity whatever happens to it, and mine wherever I go. My medium of polyurethane foam, which I first encountered in marginalized spaces, reflects our identity. On a literal level, it is a basic resource for maintaining structures. More deeply, it is a symbol of repair. Transformed in shape and colour to achieve power and beauty, my foam canvas symbolizes the empowerment and community-building of impoverished surroundings. My work thus reflects the transition from flow to solidity that characterizes Puerto Ricans’ ability to transform adversity and migration into strength and solidarity. ‘Solidarity,’ which shares its Latin root with ‘solid’, describes my materials and the people they reflect. On an island with the status of a colony, solidarity and resistance are crucial to survival. Here is another overlap of meaning with Latin origin: ‘resist’ and ‘resilient’ both connect with the essence of ‘stop’ and ‘stand’. Our journey is to do both, whether by staying in Puerto Rico or forging new presence in unfamiliar places.

Sculpture:Spray Paint on Soft (Yarn, Cotton, Fabric)

Original:One-of-a-kind Artwork

Size:72 W x 72 H x 7 D in

Delivery Time:Typically 5-7 business days for domestic shipments, 10-14 business days for international shipments.