Maritza

The thread that runs through all my work is ancestry -- the collection of inseparable qualities that, through blood and culture and beyond our ability to control, make us who we are.And while we may not be able to consent to the qualities of the past that have shaped us, we do exercise choice in how we regard our essential selves.In my work, the view to ancestry is represented by memories that are woven or contemplated through symbols of passage: windows, arches, doorways, gates. What we see, remember or pass through includes elements of family, culture and religion as well as social, racial and gender facets of life. In a word: Identity.Each of us connects at all these levels through experience that unfolds with increasing complexity as we grow older. Even as those moments differ from family to family or from person to person, the experiences become a part of our essential selves.My artwork reflects these experiences framed within frames. Exteriors blend with interiors and geometric shapes contrast with the organic to reveal shadings of womanhood, home relationships, environment and roots. Color and texture create an atmosphere of emotional and spiritual evolution.Some of my work has used the process of deconstructing and redefining my past and present. Images I've used in the past are cut and reassembled by weaving or collaging, sometimes arbitrarily, sometimes in a more conscious fashion.Since I am primarily a printmaker, my work engages the diverse elements of that form as well as collage and painting. Whether contained in two dimensional mixed media works or dynamic three-dimensional books, there are endless ways of expressing the mysteries and power of ancestry.Two examples of my work express dualities that affected me growing up in Puerto Rico. My interracial family was rooted in my mother‚ Lola’s Spanish ancestry and father‚ Moncho’s African background with roots in Haiti and in the indigenous Taino tribe.Doña Lola‚ the mantilla is a symbol of Lola’s Roman Catholic and Spanish background. Doilies -- seen behind her and on the houselike structure -- were part of our culture and girls would crochet them. The mortar and pestle was used by the Tainos and still is used to grind spices. It represents her nurturing presence and her influence teaching me to care for home and family. At bottom are Lola’s beloved mountains of her childhood home in Jayuya.Don Moncho reflects my father, who taught me discipline, dedication and a sense of spiritualism; he is represented by the kanaga mask of the Dogon of Mali.Moncho treasured reading and music. At different times in his life he practiced Catholicism; Santeria, a ritualistic belief brought by slaves; and spiritualism. This mask is worn at Dogon rituals called Ldama where souls of the dead are transported from the village while securing prestige for the deceased and his or her descendants. This piece’s bird feathers connect to Santeria and the bottom image links to the Universe. The Spanish classic guitar -- a gift from my mother -- testifies to his talent as a musician.