NALAC 2024: De Colonos y Mangles
De Colonos y Mangles / Settlers and Mangroves was a thematic residency project funded by NALAC in the coastal town of Isabela located on the west side of the island. The focus was to learn, examine, and to paint various ecosystems and landscapes as well as the role of roots in an intricate ecosystem that goes unnoticed to the naked eye. What's invisible to many is the massive interconnectivity of roots from mangroves and Seagrape trees. It's a network below our feet which sustains and keeps sand dunes anchored in place hence protecting the coast from hurricanes, erosion and floods.
Gentrification, "touristification" and illegal constructions are destroying these necessary ecosystems. The series is ultimately about how our intimacy is disrupted and occupied by the savage gentrification /recolonization of our natural resources and economy but also the violent news cycle and notifications related to the chaotic election cycle. In a sense, the piece is a reflection on how to achieve a sense of sanity and tenacity from climate change created by human chaos.
Photographer Manuel GONZO González collaborated closely with this project as he supplied images from the region as well as aquatic scenes.
Special thanks to Luis Alonso, Cayito Arias, Alexis Figueroa, Héctor González, Fernando Pont, Bárbara Pérez, Josue Rivera, Antonio Garcia y Mae Colón and Jerome O’Neill for their support.
And to Surfrider Isabela for educating me and contributing to the development of this project.
