Shields / Escudos, 2020.⠀
Protest Shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico.⠀
Hundreds of schools have closed in Puerto Rico in recent years due to debt crisis austerity programs, Washington neglect and local corruption, natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes), and shifting populations. Over 25 % of public schools on the island have now been shuttered (all pre-Covid).
The metal bus armor that once protected children while in transit to local schools are here repurposed into protest shields to protect those fighting for the future of our children’s education, and for our right to be self-determined, and free.
This work is inspired by those who continue to rise up in protest against the violence of racism and colonialism today, both in Puerto Rico and throughout the U.S.
Protest Shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico.⠀
Hundreds of schools have closed in Puerto Rico in recent years due to debt crisis austerity programs, Washington neglect and local corruption, natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes), and shifting populations. Over 25 % of public schools on the island have now been shuttered (all pre-Covid).
The metal bus armor that once protected children while in transit to local schools are here repurposed into protest shields to protect those fighting for the future of our children’s education, and for our right to be self-determined, and free.
This work is inspired by those who continue to rise up in protest against the violence of racism and colonialism today, both in Puerto Rico and throughout the U.S.
Shields / Escudos
Shields / Escudos (front / back, detail)
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paint
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paint
Collection of The National Gallery of Art
Shields / Escudos
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paint
Collection of The National Gallery of Art
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paint
Collection of The National Gallery of Art
Installation view at The Whitney Museum of American Art in "no existe un mundo pos-huracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria" (2022)
Shields / Escudos
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paintnt
Collection of The National Gallery of Art
2020
Metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto RIco, wood, acrylic and spray paintnt
Collection of The National Gallery of Art
Installation view at The Whitney Museum of American Art in "no existe un mundo pos-huracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria" (2022)
Shields / Escudos
2020
scrap metal, wood, acrylic and spray paint
2020
scrap metal, wood, acrylic and spray paint
Installation view at The Whitney Museum of American Art in "no existe un mundo pos-huracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria" (2022)
Decommissioned school busses (process)
2019-2020
Corozal, Puerto Rico
2019-2020
Corozal, Puerto Rico
Shields / Escudos (work in process)
2020
Santurce, Puerto Rico
2020
Santurce, Puerto Rico
Shields / Escudos (work in process)
2020
Santurce, Pueto Rico
2020
Santurce, Pueto Rico
Shields / Escudos (work in process)
2020
Santurce, Puerto Rico
2020
Santurce, Puerto Rico
Shields / Escudos
2020
2020
Shields / Escudos (back)
2020
2020
Shields / Escudos, 2020
Installed at Art Space, New Haven.
Sheet metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto Rico, wood, acrylic.
Installed at Art Space, New Haven.
Sheet metal from decommissioned school busses in Puerto Rico, wood, acrylic.
Shields / Escudos, 2020
Installed at Galeria del Barrio, East Harlem, 2021.
Installed at Galeria del Barrio, East Harlem, 2021.
