Aftershocks of Disaster by Bonilla Yarimar;LeBron Marisol;

Aftershocks of Disaster by Bonilla Yarimar;LeBron Marisol;

Author:Bonilla, Yarimar;LeBron, Marisol;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Lightning Source Inc. (Tier 3)
Published: 2019-09-25T16:00:00+00:00


And thus, another journey began. “The Frailty of Strength and Vice-Versa” soon took a life of its own. At first, friends and family members supported the project and became the first collaborators. But then, after the first presentation at the Boathouse Gallery, an alternative art space in Humboldt Park, the installation started to connect with people all on its own. Strangers were reaching out to be a part of the process. There were articles and interviews being done about it. I was invited to bring the installation in different formats to the Museum of Contemporary Art of Chicago, Connecticut College, the University of Massachusetts in Boston, and other spaces and communities. Also, it became the reason why I was invited to participate in “Aftershocks of Disaster: Puerto Rico a Year after María,” at Rutgers University on September 28, 2018.

Hurricane María unveiled a lot of the real Puerto Rico to the world and to ourselves. This is also true in the arts. One night as I worked on the installation, I watched CBS news correspondent David Begnaud interview a group of Puerto Rican artists (some of whom I love very dearly) as they talked about how “María was the best thing that ever happened to Puerto Rico.” They said people on the island were being sedentary, thus perpetuating the agelong misconception of Puerto Ricans as lazy, which clearly contrasts with the stories of resiliency after the hurricane. It was nauseating to hear the worst kind of neoliberal ideas being splattered on international television and these artists, knowingly or not, expressing themselves as the worst kind of disaster capitalists.

It’s my opinion that the concept of tribalism is one that is connected directly to the colonial mind-set. This condition is a common one in Puerto Rico and also within our artistic community. Artistic trends divide and fluctuate through our art scenes in groups that resemble secretive Masonic lodges. It was through those groups that the information regarding art relief funds, grants, and residencies was transmitted after the hurricane; artists outside these networks lacked opportunities for aid. Artists within the nexus recommended each other and, in some cases, accepted multiple grants and fully funded artist residencies knowing there were other artists in worse conditions than they who simply were not part of their circle. María thus unmasked a lack of political consciousness and social empathy among my peers.

I feel very disconnected from the tribalist form of thinking, so in many ways, “The Frailty of Strength and Vice-Versa” became my shelter. This installation became a therapeutic safe haven for me from the moment of its conception. At the same time, it has served as a connective element among people who are still mourning our dead and as a way to ease their pain throughout that process. Its essence lies in the facts that it cannot be done without the collaboration of caring individuals and its conclusion can be achieved only with their participation. Another important element is that it is conceived to raise funds for a cause outside of myself.



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