Kickstarter

On September 17, a special event will take place in Puerto Colombia, a small town near Barranquilla, Colombia.  Seven established artists of diverse backgrounds will develop distinct urban interventions. Zulu Padilla -- whom I met last year while I was visiting this town -- has invited me to participate. 

In 1893, Puerto Colombia newly inaugurated a 400 ft-long pier, one of the world’s largest at the time. For the next four decades, Puerto Colombia was the center of marine trade in the Colombian Atlantic coast.  Some 50 years later, in 1943, the Colombian Government prohibited the pier activity, transferring all the trade to the much larger Barranquilla.  The decision condemned the town to neglect, abandonment and ruin, turning Puerto Colombia into a ghetto-like beach town, though still serenely beautiful.  In 2009 the pier collapsed some 200 feet into the water and was subsequently shut down.  During my visit to Puerto Colombia, I noticed the 16-story building and fell in love with it.  Although the construction started a decade ago, the building remains half-built.

The idea is to fully wheat paste the entire building with my recent body of work, consisting of images of recent floods. Among the images are:  four men grasping onto their remaining belongings as they flee the Japanese tsunami; a homeless man seeking shelter from the San Francisco Bay area storms with nothing more than a plastic bag over his head; a young girl desperately running alongside her bicycle from the overflowing Jamundi River in Colombia.

In addition to wheatpasting this forgotten tower, I plan to produce a hand bound book consisting of 45 pages, along with a cardboard silkscreened cover in an edition of 300. There will be a special edition of 50 for generous supporters of “The Forgotten Tower.”  This book will become the second volume in the Nuevos Tiempos collection. Along with the books, I an offering recent original work at a range of prices.

Due to the event's budgetary restrictions, I must provide for all my materials and travel expenses. The goal is to raise $3000.00 to complete both the exhibit and the book project.

I appreciate your support in this important artistic project which summons a reflection on human tragedy, as it enhances the town and engages and educates passersby in Puerto Colombia.

The work created for this project will also be included in an upcoming solo exhibit at FUSE gallery.