Rialenga

My mother would insist in calling me “Rialenga”, a wild child, a stray dog. To her, I was one of those that never grew any roots. I was raised traveling and exploring, bound to no sense of time and location. Due to my family being involved in the cattle, cocoa and rice industry of the Dominican Republic, the many experiences and narratives I have gathered from an early age are entwined with mythology and folklore. On my adventures in the countryside, I would encounter all sorts of rituals, narratives, prominent superstitions and customs that have been well preserved in the rural fields that had been overlooked by time, and had gone nearly extinct in the city. I explore and dissect all these stories, dreams and legends that have been passed down through storytelling by family members and the townsfolk. My work is an exploration of my own sense of self and how my multi cultural background, family mythology and traditions, superstitions and childhood memories are coiled into my roots. I use etching to create surreal imagery, and also incorporate other print techniques fused with significant childhood and family customs like embroidery, watercolor, traditional beading and sculpture to create shrines to these chronicles.