
Juan Sanchez, Fractured Grids Wall Installation (2021). Mixed media collage wall installation composed of 12 X 12 X 2 inch masonite panels.inch panels. 100 x 8712 x 2 in.
The artworks presented on this webpage are part an on-going series title Fractured Grids/ Cuadriculas Framentada. They are made up of several single, diptychs and triptychs assemblages, and multi-paneled wall and floor installations.
A central image throughout this go-going series is that of a figure whose face is draped with the Puerto Rican national flag. This veiled female/male figure became a recurring motif in my work, appearing as if facing interrogation, torture, a firing squad. Throughout the years this photograph has been compulsively appeared in several paintings, prints and videos. They allude to a history of colonialism, oppression, and marginalization. The anonymity of the figure allows me to pass between my own identity and others. At times this image evokes more specific reference, such as the story of Alejandrina Torres, a Puerto Rican political prisoner who was isolated, tortured and raped at the Lexington Control Unit in Kentucky.
The anonymity of the obscured figures allows us to project ourselves into these works and question our personal relationships to these colonial histories and experiences. By re-contextualizing and juxtaposing historical, cultural, popular, and auto and biographical references, nuanced narratives emerge with new meaning and relevance, I want to imbed the turmoil, anguish, and rebellion for social justice and self-determination along with the beauty, joy of a life-affirming spirit.