Experience the timeless nostalgia of Puerto Rican art and identity through a visually stunning exhibit that connects the island to its diaspora in Central Florida.
A Visual Tapestry of Identity: Nostalgia for My Island
The traveling exhibit “Nostalgia for My Island” at the Rollins Museum of Art presents a unique self-perspective of Puerto Rico, viscerally connecting the island to its diaspora in Central Florida. The show features twenty paintings from the Museo de Arte de Ponce, each offering a distinct glimpse into the complex history and culture of Puerto Rico.
Synthesis of Culture
The collection’s recurring theme is the convergence of specificity with international formal influence. Works like José R. Oliver’s “Ño Gervasio’s Family” (1961) capture the essence of Puerto Rican family life through a distinctly cubist approach, while Fransisco Oller Y Cestero’s still-life painting (undated) employs European realism to depict tropical fruits and sweet potatoes native to the island.
Universalization of Identity
For members of the Puerto Rican diaspora, these pieces mirror their relationship with identity and the confluence of cultures they embody. The exhibit also includes playable autonarratives of Puerto Ricans detailing their transitions to Central Florida in the mid-20th Century. A visitor’s poem recorded at the show ends with the lines, “I want to be buried on my island/ If I am reborn/ I want to be Puerto Rican over and over again.”
Landscape as Identity
The people of Puerto Rico are tethered to its physical place—the island’s materiality and beauty are the unifying points for Puerto Ricans. Paintings like Fernando Díaz Mackenna’s “Landscape with Bohío” (1921) and Waldemar Morales’ “Landscape, View of San Germán” (1957) depict idyllic scenes of rural landscapes and townscapes, while others, such as the 1962 painting “Barrio Tokio,” address Puerto Rico’s socio-economic conditions.
A Reflection of Nostalgia
“Nostalgia for My Island” is not limited to a purely academic retrospective; it also reflects Puerto Rico and its people today, contextualized by history. The exhibit represents the void of home to anyone nostalgic for a place other than where they are. “Nostalgia for My Island” is on view at Rollins Museum of Art through January 5.
