Living through a hurricane is an engulfing, often overwhelming experience. The work of multimedia artist Sarabel Santos-Negrón immerses visitors in the sensations of the storm: "Under Pressure" is an audio recording of the passage of Hurricane María through her family home in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. The lashing of the wind and the rhythmic banging of objects colliding offer the virtual visitor an aural slice of what millions of Caribbean people survive every year.
The large tiles in her accompanying piece "Groundscapes Displaced" reimagine the debris she found underfoot in the aftermath of the storm. In creating art out of her family's ruined possessions, Santos-Negrón sets out what many consider trash for our sustained contemplation. Her piece symbolically rejects the government's disregard for Puerto Rican lives made evident in the botched storm response. In the broadest possible sense, Santos-Negrón's work requires us to pay attention to the effects of the storm on Caribbean peoples.
Learn more about Sarabel Santos-Negrón.
