Siembra

Title: Siembra
Edition of 10, 8 layer screen print, on Legion rising museum board, 24x24in

Inspired by décimas (a Puerto Rican poetry and musical genre) of agricultural independence, the work features an equestrian portrait of an Antillana on a “criollo” horse, carrying a load of plantains, a domestic good that symbolizes resilience among Caribbean cultures. The background features “losas criollas”, historic hydraulic tiles, that are currently in danger of being lost to foreign developers who are slowly dismantling traditional architectural elements throughout el “casco viejo”. Both Puerto Rico’s food sovereignty and its architectural heritage are threatened by colonial forces. In response, graffiti is overlayed throughout the work. Not only is this influenced by the artist’s Nuyorican experience, but graffiti as a counter movement of colonization, a language of resistance that Nuyoricans co-founded during the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx. Together, the work aims to preserve the idea of a Puerto Rico “Libre y Sobrerana”.