Yuvinka Medina: Your work highlights the impact of environmental disasters in Puerto Rico, particularly the fragility of housing in the face of climate crises. How do you balance personal and collective memory in your work when addressing these urgent issues?
Mariana Ramos Ortiz: My experiences and memories of climate crisis events are deeply entangled with the broader history and collective memory of these incidents. The personal and collective weave into each other, becoming almost inseparable. In the aftermath of life-altering events like hurricanes, a sense of unity and cooperation emerges as essential. The personal experience merges with the collective, emphasizing the importance of shared resistance.
Breeze blocks and storm shutters, with their common uses, act as mediators between my personal recollections and the broader, communal experience. They allow me to delve into my own memories while simultaneously creating space for others to reflect, remember, and build new meaning alongside me. Through this relationship, I invite others to interlace their memories with mine, embracing a deeper sense of connection.
Biography
Mariana Ramos Ortiz (f. 1997, Cabo Rojo) based in the USA and Puerto Rico. They holds an Master of Fine Arts in Printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence (2021) and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Visual Arts from the University of Puerto Rico, Magna Cum Laude (2019). Ramos Ortiz has had solo exhibitions at the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, AZ (2024) and Central Contemporary Arts, Providence (2023). Group exhibitions includes Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles (2024); the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York (2023) and the Newport Art Museum, Newport (2022).
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Mariana Ramos Ortiz, Breezeblocks (derrumbe), 2023 Photo: Natalie Montero
