Water, immigration and destiny

Art has to do with much more than drawing, painting and sculpting. Art is about the details of an emotion that each piece interprets.
The installations of Cuban artist Juana Valdes, who recently opened a new exhibit at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning entitled “Past/Present Tense,” touches on the role that water has played throughout time to move immigrants to their new destinies.
Valdes, a professional art student with degrees from Parsons School of Design and the School of Visual Arts, explained that her pieces are “like a translation, but also an adaptation of one’s self into a different culture.”
In her art, Valdes interprets her old memories of migrating at the age of seven from Cuba to Miami with her mother and brothers. “I began to take my experiences as an American and as a Cuban and began to see them differently,” she said.
One of her new projects is the installation of an immense sail made of silk men’s handkerchiefs. According to Valdes, the sail’s peak is upside down to symbolize a lack of direction and a dysfunction.
“Imagine if Christopher Columbus had never discovered America? We’d all be speaking Dutch or German!” said Valdes adding that so many things influence world history. “This piece is about the ability of a sail to facilitate this type of journey, of going from one place and traveling around the world on one’s own.”
A guest at the exhibit said he liked Valdes’ work because “she is consistent with the themes she works on.”
“She’s introducing very complex themes, like this work with the sail,” said Karlos Carcamo. “Her work is evolving, and now she’s introducing new mediums. She’s expanding her vocabulary.”
Another related piece looks at immigration through paper boats, which are not made of paper but of porcelain. Valdes said she has made 80 boats but her intent is to fill up an entire room.
A newer piece focuses on water a little differently. Valdes creates water bottles to represent the use of water as a commodity, as the new “oil,” she said.
“Water will be the next raw material with increasing value,” said Valdes. “I want people when they see this piece, which isn’t a very pretty piece, to think about what water means to them. Without water we would all die.”
“I see all of these themes connected to water,” she said. “Perhaps it’s because I’m from an island!”
Valdes’ art installation pieces will be on exhibit until September 5 at the Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL) located at 161-04 Jamaica Avenue. For more information please call 718-658-7400.