Tomorrow, Tuesday May 31 at 6pm, the photo exhibit “El País Bajo Mi Piel: Culture, Memory and Resistance” opens at AS220 Photo at 93 Mathewson Street, Downtown.
The photos are the final project of AS220 artist in residence for the month of May, Huáscar Robles, a journalist/photographer/activist from San Juan, Puerto Rico. The project is on the visual forms of clout Providence’s Hispanic community boasts. To complete the project, Robles trekked through Providence’s Latino neighborhoods, building alliances and understanding their challenges. At the end of the journey, Robles discovered Latinos wear their clout and pride on their skin and, as author Diana Taylor wrote, on other political surfaces.
“Hanging a Mexican flag on your dashboard or a wearing a tattoo of the Puerto Rican flag are acts of resistance. This is a great demonstration of clout in a city whose Hispanic members are constant targets of immigration policies and the Secure Community strategies that have threatened the stability of Latino neighborhoods from Olneyville to Central Falls,” explains Robles.
“El País Bajo Mi Piel” also draws inspiration from Gioconda Belli’s novel of the same name. It commences tomorrow at 6pm and will run through the month of June.
You’re welcome to AS220 anytime.
I’ll have to take RIPTA down to AS220 and check it out.