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.
