Ignacio Sanchez

Social Issues in Puerto Rico

For this exhibition I wanted to explore various aspects of social issues in Puerto Rico. As someone who has lived on the island for over 18 years I have been exposed to various problems and have been present during others. As someone who cares deeply about my local community, I wanted to highlight some social issues. Primarily, the problems with the educational system, racism, femicide, political party bipartisanship and greed, immigration, police injustice, environmental issues and the island’s crippling debt. I expressed these issues across various media, ranging from abstract graffiti, ceramics, mixed media and political cartoons.

I wanted to have an array of artistic methods because I am still exploring different artistic styles and like to diversify my work so I can cover various forms of expression of one similar topic. Different artists have not directly influenced my work for the most part, my methods for creating my artistic works consisted of scavenging across the art classrooms finding different materials to use for my artworks. I want to be different, not for the sake of being different but because I wanted to challenge myself to create something out of the unused materials found in the art rooms. As for the ceramics, I have always had a deep affinity for the artistic method because of my early childhood weekends having been in the beaches of the island, molding sand into castles, volcanoes and other structures. Ceramics allowed me to create a three dimensional work, that gives more depth to my exhibition both figuratively and literally. The only artwork directly inspired by artists was influenced by the famous street and pop culture artists, Andy Warhol, Basquiat and Banksy. 

The first artwork as seen from the leftmost side is Garabatos, which is the piece about the problems with the educational system in the island and the many challenges it has faced recently. This is the first work because it grabs the attention of the audience with its harsh black lines and big scale. The second work is Raíces. This has a harsh contrast to Garabatos, in form and media. I included this work second because it is ceramic and metal, a combination rarely seen. Ceramic is seen as soft and fragile while metal is harsh and strong. The aesthetics of the two pieces introduce my exhibition as a varied show, not restrained to a single language. The third artwork I included was the most different work in my collection. It has an acrylic screen used for Covid regulations in the school. It is the first work to feature color. This continues to grab the attention of the reader for their eyes to continue across the exhibition. The fourth work is Femicide. It is a ceramic work but with a harsh red that represents blood. It mixes ceramic and color, a combination that is first seen with this artwork. This gives a hint to the audience that there is more to come artistically. The fifth work next to Femicide is Yolas. Now with a deep blue base representing the ocean immigrants have to cross in the home made boats or Yolas to get to Puerto Rico in order to have a better life. There are ceramic boats on top of the blue, all heading towards an unseen Puerto Rico. The sixth work is the cold Coral Bleach. It is a ceramic work in all white. Different from the other works because it only has one color. It is a stark contrast from the rest despite its simplicity. The seventh artwork is the ceramic pig on a mud base. It is the largest ceramic piece. It is a humorous piece, because of its humanoid pig shape. Despite the humorous aesthetic it reflects the serious problem that is police brutality. The last piece is a completely different piece but holds most clearly to the main point of the exhibition. It is a political cartoon that depicts a pressing political and financial issue that holds Puerto Rico down.