Bio:
Keysha Rivera is a textile and media artist of Afro-Indigenous (Taíno) ancestry. Rivera combines traditional craft and digital technologies. Her work revolves around cultural preservation and the configuration of displaced histories.
Her work being rooted in the connection of material and process, she creates soft sculptures, paintings, and installations that point to the conversation around the vulnerability of home, the bodily connection to nature, and the tenderness of memory and remembrance. Her familial research acts as a guide for the creation of works. Her art functions as a contemporary form of resistance to the present-day realities by centering Puerto Rican autonomy.
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Artist Statement:
My recent creative process has shifted towards building soft sculptures using photos. This process emerged as a reaction to the restrictions of initially painting on canvas, making illustrations, and using traditional ways of archiving memory. Rather than working within a defined area and material, I like exploring different mediums, materials, shapes, and sizes. Exploring fabric altering by shifting from 2D to 3D or fabric layering has been instrumental in finding myself in my work.
My practice is very much inspired by non-human connections such as fungi, moss and plants. I like to believe my works are interconnected manifestations of memory (or networks of memory). My practice is a practice of memorizing as an act of responsibility. Drawing parallels with mycelium, the collective memory of the fungal organism, my soft sculptures serve as tangible embodiments of this landscape of remembrance.
My work is a deliberate exploration into the intersection of craft and contemporary technology, where I seek to establish connections between these seemingly disparate realms. By exploring into each domain separately or together, I unravel the unique potentials they offer. However, what becomes evident through this process is the undeniable interweaving of methodologies. It's about recognizing the symbiotic relationship between them.
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Keysha Rivera is a textile and media artist of Afro-Indigenous (Taíno) ancestry. Rivera combines traditional craft and digital technologies. Her work revolves around cultural preservation and the configuration of displaced histories.
Her work being rooted in the connection of material and process, she creates soft sculptures, paintings, and installations that point to the conversation around the vulnerability of home, the bodily connection to nature, and the tenderness of memory and remembrance. Her familial research acts as a guide for the creation of works. Her art functions as a contemporary form of resistance to the present-day realities by centering Puerto Rican autonomy.
︎
Artist Statement:
My recent creative process has shifted towards building soft sculptures using photos. This process emerged as a reaction to the restrictions of initially painting on canvas, making illustrations, and using traditional ways of archiving memory. Rather than working within a defined area and material, I like exploring different mediums, materials, shapes, and sizes. Exploring fabric altering by shifting from 2D to 3D or fabric layering has been instrumental in finding myself in my work.
My practice is very much inspired by non-human connections such as fungi, moss and plants. I like to believe my works are interconnected manifestations of memory (or networks of memory). My practice is a practice of memorizing as an act of responsibility. Drawing parallels with mycelium, the collective memory of the fungal organism, my soft sculptures serve as tangible embodiments of this landscape of remembrance.
My work is a deliberate exploration into the intersection of craft and contemporary technology, where I seek to establish connections between these seemingly disparate realms. By exploring into each domain separately or together, I unravel the unique potentials they offer. However, what becomes evident through this process is the undeniable interweaving of methodologies. It's about recognizing the symbiotic relationship between them.
