By Sonia Romero

(click on the image to see full size art)

Medium: Serigraph/Silkscreen

Colors: 9, Hand Pulled

Paper: Coventry Rag 320 g/sm

Size: 30” x 40”

Signed and Numbered Edition: 50

printed at Modern Multiples

2023  

This edition was commissioned and funded by the

Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College

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I conceived this artwork in 2020, a monumental year in U.S. history. In response to the civil unrest following the death of George Floyd, statues were being 'decommissioned' across the country. I spent 2020 at home with my two small children, navigating through Zoom Kindergarten, and consuming all my news and culture through the internet. I was particularly drawn to the news footage covering activists who were interacting with the Serra monuments. Serra has been beheaded, spray-painted, protested against, and 'removed for his safety.' As an artist who creates art for public spaces, I am fascinated by the fact that these statues, once commissioned and crafted by previous artists with great care, have once again become part of the contemporary dialogue through their interactions with protestors.

After the statues are removed, a question arises about what to do with them. I envisioned a new arrangement for the statues—a pile of Serra statues—situated along the banks of the Los Angeles River in Frogtown. The location of the LA River is significant because the life-giving river itself has been wrapped in concrete, disrupting its native ecosystem. This is part of my 'pile' series, which comments on the sometimes wasteful, sometimes abundant nature of America. - Sonia Romero

This artwork ships rolled in a large tube.