Florida House was shown for the first time, outside digital space, in the exhibition Transplants,

curated by Ellen Sturm Niz at Amos Eno Gallery , New York, July, 2023.  

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a-sort-of-artists-statement:

"All my years in Miami and now in my mother's birthplace, Brooklyn, I felt deeply connected to my neighbors from the Caribbean and confused about my own ancestry. There was a small part of me that intuited something more, that origin stories are often only a version of reality.  

We all come from somewhere and through acts of transplantation, displacement and migration, we are so much more than we really know and often, what others want us to believe. 

Florida House speaks to a time and place I can never really return to yet somehow still lives in me. Families might conceal parts of their history for various painful reasons; the curious are left to investigate their complex histories, and if lucky, we find what we are looking for.  Thanks to ancestral record-keeping, I recently found my grandfather's birthplace, Puerto Rico.  Florida House (aka Little Pink House) is an homage to a real sense of place that lives on in the imagination. 

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Curators notes:

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Transplants explores the act of moving a living thing from one place to another, whether a human being, a culture, an internal organ, or a botanical specimen. In each instance, the transplants undergo both a physical migration and transformation of identity as they adapt to their new surroundings. The hope is they grow new roots and thrive, but there is also potential peril if the new environment proves inhospitable.

 

This theme resonates with me because it reflects the inherent human desire for exploration, growth, and adaptation,” Niz said. “We are constantly seeking new experiences, new connections, and new environments that challenge and shape us. Transplants invites viewers to contemplate the complexities and consequences of these movements, both literal and metaphorical.

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... sparking conversations on important topics such as identity, belonging, cultural exchange, and environmental impact. I invite viewers to reflect on their own experiences of transplantation and consider the broader implications of movement and adaptation in our interconnected world."

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