Sandra Ramos (b. 1969)
Artist Statement
Series: Mare Monstrous 2017
In the series of aquatint etchings I created in 2017, the central theme continues to be the reflection on my relationship with Cuban history and politics and how these are integrated into a uniform collective experience that involves all people born on this island after the 1959 Revolution. I have worked with this subject and the character of the alter ego of the Pioneer girl for many years through the symbolic representation of the connection between the Island's shape and the Sea surrounding it and how this symbiosis defines the destinies of the Cuban people. The Mare Nostrum, Caribbean Sea, Beautiful Sea, Dangerous Sea, and Mare Monstrous isolate us geographically and politically by making access to migratory routes to the north tricky and risky. These pieces and the title of the series mainly make references to the trauma of emigration concerning the contingencies and insecurity of oceanic crossings through allusions to ancient paradigms and stories found in Greek and Roman mythologies such as Penelope, Pandora, Leviathan, the Trojan Horse or Chronos devouring the earth in Mundi-cidio. All the images try to reflect emotionally and subjectively, through narrative illustrations, my concerns about the future of my country and the planet. In them, I criticize our ruthless approach to the excessive exploitation of the resources of nature and the sea. I also intend to draw attention to the profound inequalities in human development, the lack of freedom, and the difficult access to a better life for everyone worldwide, which are the fundamental causes of the continuous human displacements and migratory waves to the wealthiest countries. Pandora's Box is a print that humorously refers to the Greek myth of the same name that
Sandra Ramos b. Havana 1969, lives and works in Miami.
Sandra Ramos is a multimedia visual artist who achieved international recognition in the
90s for exploring critical themes touching on political and social issues tied to the
complexities of identity, nationality, and emigration. She uses a diverse array of
mediums, materials, and techniques, including video, photography, paintings,
installations, and etchings.
Ramos has exhibited for over thirty years, among her solo: “Entropydoscopes. Sandra
Ramos”. Lowe Art Museum. University of Miami (2023). “Both Sides Now” DRCLAS
Harvard (2022); “Déjà vu” PAAP, Miami (2018); “Watertight” ASU Museum, (2016);
“Bridging the Past, Present, and Future” American University Museum, Washington DC
(2014); “Puentes” National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana (2012)
Her work was shown at Venice Biennial (2013) & Havana Biennial (1994) (2012).
Phoenix Art Museum (2023) Artyard. NJ (2022); MFA Boston (2020). PAMM, Miami
(2018). Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2017).
Ramos received Prizes and art residences such as the OOLITE-ARTPACE Home Away
Residency, San Antonio, TX (2023). Ellis Creator Award, Miami (2021), Cleveland
Foundation (2017), The Studios of Key West (2016), The Fountainhead Miami (2011),
and Fuchu Art Museum. Tokyo (2003); Provincetown Fine Arts Center (2002); Barbican
Center in London (1999)
Ramo's work is in the collections: MOMA NY, MFA Boston, The San Diego Museum of
Art, PAMM; National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana; The Bronx Museum, ASU
Museum; The Ludwig Forum Aachen; TBA21 Vienna; Fuchu Art Museum in Tokyo.
Ramos obtained an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute; she graduated from the
Higher Institute of Art (ISA) and San Alejandro Art Academy in Cuba.