With my art, I reveal clandestine histories. More recently,
I have been utilizing alternative surfaces and materials
as political signifiers. Each figure depicted in my portraits—whether
a freedom fighter, a spiritual deity, or my mom—
is disenfranchised and battles to rise above. I portray
them as warriors, goddesses and gods in their own right.
My palette is usually inspired by the color associations
of the pantheon of Yoruba deities whose influence is felt
throughout the African Diaspora. Each deity is associated
with a force of nature and its corresponding color, for
instance Yemaya is the blue ocean, Shango is red fire,
and so on. Even my recent use of burlap or “sackcloth”
is associated with the humble deity Babaluaye. I work
with this fabric as a metaphor for poverty, humility and
struggle and to represent the jíbaros and all farmers
and healers who honor and work with the earth.
Other materials are explored in my work to connect its
aesthetic and technical aspects with its thematic content.
My portrait of a Vieques boy, a chronic asthmatic because
of contaminants resulting from decades of US Naval bombing
maneuvers, was created on a military tent, a symbol of
the source of his suffering. Manila file folders, file
labels and paper clips are the materials used for mixed
media portraits of so-called “subversives”
targeted by FBI surveillance programs for their involvement
in the Puerto Rican Independence movement. I have also
been using industrial scraps as witnesses to our daily
struggles within an increased state of industrialization
and militarism. I also incorporate calligraphy. First
taught to me by my 8th grade science teacher, a Chinese
woman, its use in my work serves as a tribute to 20th
century Puerto Rican printmakers whose posters documented
the socio-political changes of their homeland.
I find inspiration in past expressive forms of resistance,
reconfiguring them within today’s challenges and
experiences. In these times of global conflict, I create
art that questions notions of comfort and privilege and
challenges injustice. My mission is to incite dialogue
and action around these issues within the street, grassroots,
organizational, campus and institutional levels.
Photo by John James 2005
b. 1975, Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn born, Puerto Rican painter and installation
artist Yasmin Hernandez reveals and celebrates the (s)heroes
of hidden histories. Her work is rooted in the legacies
and struggles of marginalized communities. Daring to comment
on topics that few others touch upon, she received an
Artist/ Activist of the Year award in 2006 from the NYC-based
organization Art for Change. She is also a recipient of
the Ramón Feliciano Social Justice Prize from the
Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and
a Mujeres Destacadas/ Outstanding Latinas Award by New
York-based Spanish-language newspaper, El Diario/ La Prensa.
Her latest series, ARCHIVOS SUBVERSIVOS, explores government
surveillance on suspected “subversives” and
the political repression targeting the Puerto Rican independence
movement and other anti-imperialist struggles. She has
received support from the Center for Puerto Rican Studies,
and the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture
(NALAC) to expand this project. Another recent series,
Soul Rebels, features portraits of poets and musicians
whose work challenge injustice. The series debuted as
part of the 2005 installment of El Museo’s Bienal:
The (S) Files as a site-specific installation created
on 8 theater door panels in El Museo's lobby. The highlight
of the Soul Rebels unveiling reception was the surprise
appearance of featured Soul Rebel, master Latin Jazz pianist/
composer and 9-time Grammy award winner, Mr. Eddie Palmieri.
In 2006 Yasmin was invited to present a special second
installment of Soul Rebels, when the (S) Files traveled
to El Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico. She was again invited
to Puerto Rico to exhibit her work at La Casa Escuté
in Carolina during the Second Annual Symposium on African
Cultural and Spiritual Traditions in the summer of 2007.
Yasmin attended the LaGuardia High School of the Arts
in Manhattan and earned a BFA in Painting from Cornell
University. Her painting series, Realidades de Quisqueya,
created with a grant from the Cornell Council for the
Arts, has been on permanent exhibit at the Cornell Latino
Studies Program Offices since 1997. She recently completed
a mural celebrating leaders of the women and queer communities
for the Edmonia Lewis Center for Women and Transgender
People at Oberlin College in Ohio. Currently, the artist
is working on another commission documenting 40 years
of student activism for the Intercultural Resource Center
at Columbia University. Yasmin has a monthly series of
talks and slide presentations entitled RebelArte, based
on themes of resistance and liberation. The talks are
held at the Cemi Underground Bookstore in El Barrio/ East
Harlem the last Saturday of each month. A firm believer
that art is an empowering vehicle, Yasmin continues to
develop community education initiatives on themes of art
and liberation and works on a freelance basis to offer
educational workshops and develop curricula for school
and community groups at El Museo Del Barrio and the Studio
Museum in Harlem. Yasmin’s works can be seen alongside
personal testimonials and historical narratives on her
website, www.yasminhernandez.com.
photo: Rosann Santos
