Jo Cosme

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Jo Cosme’s ongoing project, Welcome to Paradise: ¡Viva Puerto Rico Libre!, began after Hurricane María displaced her from Borikén (Puerto Rico). The work responds to widespread misunderstandings of the archipelago’s colonial condition, challenging narratives that frame it as a site of leisure and escape. Through immersive installations, photography, video, and sound, Cosme draws from the visual language of tourism and advertising to reveal histories of extraction, control, and resistance. What first appears playful gradually unsettles, exposing grief and protest beneath spectacle. The project asks viewers to confront complicity, question the construction of “paradise,” and consider solidarity beyond consumption.

Jo Cosme is a Boricua multimedia artist working across photography, installation, video, and sound. Born and raised in Borikén (Puerto Rico) and now based in Seattle after being displaced by Hurricane María, her work examines colonial power, displacement, and the gap between Puerto Rico’s tourist image and the lived realities of its people. Cosme holds a BFA in Photography from the School of Fine Arts of Puerto Rico. Her work has been exhibited at venues including Museo de las Américas (PR), Whatcom Museum, Dab Art Gallery (Los Angeles), and Galerie Rivoli 59 (Paris), among others. She is part of the permanent collection at Sea-Tac Airport and has received fellowships from MASS MoCA, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, McMillen Foundation, and 4Culture.