María Guabancex

Daniel Lind-Ramos, María Guabancex, 2022, Siding from the artist’s home, various metal construction elements, dried palm tree branch, dried palm tree trunks, dried tree trunks, various textiles, painted coconut, FEMA tarp, plastic bubble wrap, painted wood, plastic hoses, painted hose spigot, , 110 × 84 × 148 in. (279.4 × 213.4 × 375.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase in part through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment, 2022.41A-DD

Artwork Details

Title: María Guabancex
Artist: Daniel Lind-Ramos
Date: 2022
Location: Smithsonian American Art Museum
/
3rd Floor
/
East Wing
Dimensions: 110 × 84 × 148 in. (279.4 × 213.4 × 375.9 cm)
Credit Line: Museum purchase in part through the Smithsonian Latino Initiatives Pool, administered by the Smithsonian Latino Center, and the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment
Mediums: metal
plastic
readymade
wood
fabric
Mediums Description: Siding from the artist’s home, various metal construction elements, dried palm tree branch, dried palm tree trunks, dried tree trunks, various textiles, painted coconut, FEMA tarp, plastic bubble wrap, painted wood, plastic hoses, painted hose spigot,
Classifications: Sculpture
Assemblage
Subjects: Abstract
Object Number: 2022.41A-DD
Linked Open Data: https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2022.41A-DD

Artwork Description

María Guabancex is a portrait of a world in powerful motion. Made from materials washed up on shore after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, the sculpture appears to swirl with palm branches, metal cables, and bubble wrap. Its various elements coalesce to form the figure of Santa María, with a shroud made from corrugated metal and a robe fashioned from a blue FEMA tarp.

Daniel Lind-Ramos's dual María embodies the contradictions of its natural and divine inspirations. Given the name Guabancex--the ancient Taíno (Indigenous Caribbean) goddess of storms and chaos--his María is both destroyer and protector. With her impassive face doubling as the dark eye of the hurricane, she represents a force that gives life and takes it away.