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A close up photo of artist Yasmín Hernández. A piece of her artwork is partly in frame beside her. She faces away from the camera and smiles.

Yasmín Hernández

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Navigating notions of motherland/ otherland, I search the abyss in between, raising submerged aesthetics and liberation roadmaps. Boricua bioluminescence becomes metaphor for belonging, sustainability, thriving authentically while navigating climate change, displacement, power outages and the imposed invisibility of colonialism. With CucubaNación I envision a transcendent, liberated nation of light. With Rematriating Borikén I channel Puerto Rico Trench bioluminescence to paint Boricuas on the rematriation journey. Turning to our natural environment for liberatory light lessons reconnected me to the black power/ black velvet/ black light aesthetics of my Brooklyn childhood. I paint bioluminescent Boricuas rising from the trenches.

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Brooklyn-born/ raised artist/ writer/ cultural organizer Yasmín Hernández is rooted in liberation practices. With a BFA from Cornell University, she credits her years as an educator with Philadelphia’s Taller Puertorriqueño, El Museo del Barrio, and the Studio Museum in Harlem as her “graduate education.” Research trips to Vieques for her Bieké: Tierra de Valientes project transformed her aesthetics with bioluminescence and inspired her 2014 move to Borikén. Four months without electricity following Hurricane María reacquainted her with bioluminescence and sparked CucubaNación, her Mayagüez art studio/ gallery/ community space. With Rematriating Borikén she interviews and paints folks on the rematriation journey.

Featured Artwork

"We another interocean cosmic marine species of colonial refugees emerge like mermaids of the sea." The text is surrounded by 6 portrait, 3 on each side. Some people are smiling and some are working on art.
Yasmin Hernandez. Interocean Cosmic Marine Species, 2023. Acrylic on black velour. Photo by the artist.
Portrait of Myrna Cabán on black velvet with a calligraphy quote spiraling around a nautilus shell behind her head. The words fall down her back as well.
Yasmin Hernandez. Arrival (Myrna), 2024. Acrylic on black velvet. Photo courtesy of the artist.
"In this double portrait of my oldest son, I paint him at the age he was when we arrived, 5 years old and his age at the time of the portrait, 15 years old. The title 515 refers to those two ages but also to May 15, the date of our move to Puerto Rico from New York City." - Yasmin Hernandez. An anglerfish and two figures on a black background.
Yasmín Hernández. 515, 2022. Acrylic on black velvet. Photo courtesy of the artist.