Ficciones Typografika

Curated by Erik Brandt, Ficciones Typografika is a “project dedicated to typographic exploration in a public space”. My submission was an interpretation of the lyrics to Puerto Rico's national anthem, La Boriqueña. Puerto Rico's legislature enacted La Ley de la Mordaza (Gag Law) in 1948 as a means of quelling the independence movement on the island. For the next 9 years, it was illegal to sing patriotic songs, display a Puerto Rican flag, or assemble in support of independence.

In light of the recent economic turmoil experienced by Puerto Rico's citizens, I decided to create a work to draw attention to the often-forgotten U.S. territory. The anthem's lines serve as a distorted backdrop, similar to the island's concealed history as a Caribbean colony. The larger scattered typographic segments, made up from the title of the song, are indicative of the mass migration of Puerto Ricans to the continental U.S. between 1950 and 1960. During this period, nearly half a million people left the island.

Installed on July 10, 2016 in Minneapolis, MN
72 x 36 in. (183 x 91cm)

Photographs by Erik Brandt