Gabriella Cardenas

Throughout my time at RISD, much of my work has revolved around finding meaningful ways to incorporate aspects of my upbringing in Providence, Rhode Island and my Dominican heritage. My degree project has taken the form of a visual representation of my family history. In the collection of prints, I look beyond the present. I stretch outside of my personal experiences to the realities of the past that shaped the people who have impacted the course of my family’s story.

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Living Room Bleachers

Plywood, carpet, metal
50" x 40" 50"

A furniture course collaborative project with Antonia Steinberg:
This project was inspired by the experience of sitting on the steps with friends or family as a child. The scale, the use of carpet, and the colors used intend to evoke that sense of nostalgia and community. There is a hallow space below the seating, which is enforced with an inset metal frame.

Altagracia Embroidery

Polyester
24" x 35"

This embroidered piece is inspired by the patron saint of the Dominican Republic, la Virgen de la Altagracia (Virgin of the Highest Grace). I grew up with images of her in my home, and was intrigued by the story of how the original painting of her disappeared from its original home, and was later found in an orange bush.

Mirabal Mariposas

Photoshop, colored pencil, acrylic paint
N/A

This print is inspired by the Mirabal sisters who formed a political activist group in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship, under the codename "las mariposas" (the butterflies). The text is Patria Mirabal's quote "We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime."

Mirabal Mariposas

Photoshop, colored pencil, acrylic paint
N/A

This print is inspired by the Mirabal sisters who formed a political activist group in the Dominican Republic during Rafael Trujillo's dictatorship, under the codename "las mariposas" (the butterflies). The text is Patria Mirabal's quote "We cannot allow our children to grow up in this corrupt and tyrannical regime."