ARTIST STATEMENT
The art represented is the most current in my studio practice. It brings together
several bodies of work and experiments with layers of gold, the precious
indigenous metal taken from my birthplace by European conquerors. As I
worked, I discovered that in applying gold leaf to images that resembled island
shapes, I was in fact re-appropriating the gold to the Caribbean Islands.
The work signifies a shift from displacement ( experienced by immigration and
struggle ) to ascension ( expressed by the divine and a sense of having been
elevated to new ground) to a place of glory. So, everything is seen anew as the
island’s landscape seamlessly shifts from a traditional view to an aerial view.
The Mash-ups are personal family narratives that speak to several generations
of the Dominican women in my family preoccupied with struggling with identity,
much like the immigrant youth in this country who can also draw strength from
the understanding their roots. “Four Year Old Mash-up” is a self portrait at the
age when I was separated from my mother due to immigration, whereas “Gabina
Mash-up” represents my grandmother who managed to keep our family united
through separation. Landscape and the figure fuse as inner self is immersed in
it’s rightful place of origin, an island rich in natural resources and spirit.