What is your dream project?
I just saw the catalog of my life before my eyes. My dream project
would be to have all the narratives that have woven throughout my career be laid out in a Wanda Raimundi-Ortiz show/book format. Almost
like a huge exhibition with a corresponding catalog.
But that isn’t really a project; those are life goals. I have wanted to connect with women that are survivors of various kinds of abuse and help
them create royal archetypes for themselves. [I want to] help [them]
reenvision themselves as true queens, survivors, warrior women, empresses… I would like to empower them with art the way art has given
me voice and strength to unpack my issues, look at them, understand
them, work through them, and emerge victoriously as a result. Yeah,
that is my dream project. I would like that very much, indeed.
As a creative activist, Raimundi-Ortiz uses her artistic expression as
a means to generate a message. Whether it be personal or universal,
she likes to create a discussion that causes her audience to really think
about themselves and the world around them. Questioning preordained
commonalities within our society, along with searching for new truths
in oneself, Raimundi-Ortiz uses everything as inspiration. Much can be
discovered about oneself through others. She hopes that when people
listen to her narrative, they will learn new things about themselves.
And in turn, she will gain new insight into those around her.
She understands that not everyone fits into neat little boxes, but rather
they far outstretch any means of categorization. Growing up as a Hispanic woman in the Bronx, she struggled with finding herself and where
she fit into the larger community. She explains that she was “not light
enough to be included in the mainstream of ‘gringolandia’ or the Anglo
world, and not dark enough to belong in the black community.” Since
learning to embrace uniqueness, Raimundi-Ortiz now uses her ‘otherness’ as a tool throughout her art, much like a painter would a brush.
above: Triste Reina (Sorrow Queen), graphite on Arches paper
You can see more at:
WandaRaimundi-Ortiz.com
right: Gringa Reina (White Girl Queen), performance portrait by Dominic DiPaolo
below: This is My Crown, installation at the Orlando Museum of Art, Florida Prize 2015, India ink on latex
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