no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art in the Wake of Hurricane Maria

Nov 23, 2022–Apr 23, 2023

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Resistance and Protest

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The summer of 2019 or Verano del 19, as it became known, saw Puerto Ricans protest around the clock until then-governor Ricardo Rosselló announced his resignation on July 24 of that year. Rosselló’s ouster demonstrated the people’s ability to bring down an incompetent politician, one whose leaked chat with his close associates—many of whom were also in office at the time—revealed sexist and homophobic content, and even messages mocking those who had died in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Rallies were held in San Juan and in cities of the diaspora, including New York, Chicago, and Madrid, turning the moment viral under the hashtag #RickyRenuncia. That summer of 2019, indignation was channeled into a jubilant call for action in what became a testament to the power of the populace to drive political change. The artworks in this gallery document that summer and serve as reminders that resistance implies not a transitory effort but a constant demand for a future imagined for and by the people of Puerto Rico.

  • A group of people gathered on the street.
    A group of people gathered on the street.

    Elle Pérez, still from Wednesday, Friday, 2022. Video, black-and-white, sound; 25:30 min. (looped). Courtesy the artist, 47 Canal, New York, and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles. © 2022 Elle Pérez

  • A black and white view of the ocean cast in shadow.
    A black and white view of the ocean cast in shadow.

    Elle Pérez, still from Wednesday, Friday, 2022. Video, black-and-white, sound; 25:30 min. (looped) Courtesy the artist, 47 Canal, New York, and Commonwealth and Council, Los Angeles. © 2022 Elle Pérez

  • A portion of a person's face in blue on the left and a profile view of a person's face on the right in red with motionless figures in the background.
    A portion of a person's face in blue on the left and a profile view of a person's face on the right in red with motionless figures in the background.

    Danielle De Jesus, Google the Ponce Massacre, 2021. Oil and graphite on linen, 60 × 84in. (152.4 × 213.4 cm). Private collection

  • Poster of three faces with masks.
    Poster of three faces with masks.

    Garvin Sierra Vega, 8M-2021, 2021. Digital image. Collection of the artist; courtesy Taller Gráfico PR. © 2021 Garvin Sierra Vega

  • A poster in red of a heart with birds flying within it.
    A poster in red of a heart with birds flying within it.

    Garvin Sierra Vega, Corazón (Heart), 2022. Digital image. Collection of the artist; courtesy Taller Gráfico PR. © 2022 Garvin Sierra Vega

  • Protest Shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico.
    Protest Shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico.

    Miguel Luciano, Shields / Escudos, 2020. 10 protest shields made from decommissioned school buses in Puerto Rico, 35 × 210 × 3 1/2 in. (88.9 × 533.4 × 8.9 cm). Collection of the artist; courtesy the artist. Photograph by Argenis Apolinario

  • The terrace at the Whitney displaying a wood and cement construction of materials.
    The terrace at the Whitney displaying a wood and cement construction of materials.

    Installation view of no existe un mundo poshuracán: Puerto Rican Art In The Wake Of Hurricane Maria (Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, November 23, 2022-April 23, 2023). Gabriela Salazar, Reclamation (and Place, Puerto Rico), 2022

Artists

Explore works from this exhibition
in the Whitney's collection

View 13 works

On the Hour

A 30-second online art project:
Maya Man, A Realistic Day In My Life Living In New York City

Learn more about this project

Learn more at whathappensontheship.space/artport

On the Hour projects can contain motion and sound. To respect your accessibility settings autoplay is disabled.