Isla de Las Palmas in progress

“Isla de Las Palmas” is a “docu-literary” photography project examining Puerto Rican identity within the layered sociopolitical dynamics and systemic pressures of colonialism. The project exposes overlooked histories and subjectivities in an effort to activate civil debate amongst a diverse audience of native islanders, the diaspora, and all other U.S. citizens. Being a Puerto Rican artist and member of the diaspora, I am offering my art as a catalyst in an essential and evolving public investigation of the complexity of "being, becoming, and remaining" Puerto Rican in this tumultuous and often divisive moment in history.