Edra Soto is a purveyor of memories—of her own personal memories growing up in Puerto Rico; collective memories of pop-cultural icons, such as Iris Chacón and Bad Bunny; and historical memories of the island’s blended Spanish Colonial and Indigenous past. These memories sometimes surface in her work in obvious ways, as when she upholsters the ubiquitous white molded-plastic chair in tropical-print beach towels. Other times, the memories are more subtly placed, as when she tucks family photographs into metalwork sculptures, only visible to viewers by peering through miniature embedded viewfinders. More often, the memories are inexplicit, appearing in the form of abstracted architectural and design objects, based on the traditional rejas, or screen grills, a staple of residential architecture. Here, an alternate history of Puerto Rico is invoked, not the official history of colonization, the history that is taught to Puerto Rican schoolchildren. But a history of the unnamed working class who make up the majority of the population of the U.S. territory, whose origins and traditions remain obscure to this day.
---
View full press feature at kcstudio.org.
