MURALS
Ayúda-me
Harvard College Women's Center, 2014
I painted this This 7 x 7 ft mural to honor the help-seeking experiences of Latina immigrant victims of domestic violence in the U.S. It was conceived, designed and painted on December 2014 in the basement of Lowell House, Harvard University. It was later exhibited in the Conference Room of the Harvard College Women's Center. The mural was designed as a translation of an academic essay discussing the same subject, with the intent of creating a conversation for passers-by and exposing the issue to a broader, not necessarily academic, audience.
About the Topic
The mural depicts the obstacles that these women face when seeking help, which include cultural, structural, situational, and institutional barriers. Latina immigrant victims find themselves in an especially precarious position because of intersecting axes of power that frame their experiences: gender, race, ethnicity, national origin, immigration status and class, among others.
An intersectional approach to the reproductive justice issue of domestic abuse and violence is necessary to better comprehend the circumstances of specific groups, such as Latina immigrant women in the United States. Effective prevention, intervention and advocacy programs are possible only through an understanding of the multiplicative effects of different social standings of distinct groups. Comprehending the precarious place that Latina immigrants populate when facing Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) thus necessitates an intersectional approach that considers all levels of barriers: from the micro to the macro, from personal convictions to institutional policies.
For more detailed information about this topic, you can read my academic paper, which complements this mural, and which was presented at the American Public Health Association:
See an interview about the mural here:
http://chifladazine.com/2015/01/ayuda-me-an-interview-with-delfina-martinez-pandiani/
Nútre-me
The STEP Centre, Kingston, Jamaica, 2015
This 27 x 9 ft mural was painted in the summer of 2015 in Kingston. It was dedicated to the teachers and other individuals who nourish the minds of the young, and was designed to honor those who invest in education. It was conceived, designed and painted June-July 2015 at The STEP Centre in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica. The STEP Centre is a school for the therapy, education, and parenting of children with multiple special needs (http://www.thestepcentre.com/). The mural was designed as a background to the school's vibrant life.
The project was supported by a David Rockefeller International Experience Fund Grant awarded to Delfina during the summer of 2015.
Starring In
Harvard Sustainability Office, 2017
I painted this 9 x 6 ft mural for the Harvard Sustainability Office as a reminder for its employees of the connection between
elite institutions, capitalism, narcissism and climate change.
The following text accompanies the piece:
In working to save our planet, some argue we should learn from ants. Ants have a perfect society, they say, as they all work—and do their small part to their 100%.
It is unfortunate that when human youngsters discover the power of the magnifying glass, some deliberately incinerate those dedicated workers.
It is even more unfortunate that when human grownups discover that power, some carelessly incinerate their own.
In the blindness of our collective narcissism, we are roasting ourselves. Too intoxicated with our own reflection, we are failing to notice that which, on its way far away from us, offers genuine splendor.
[A respected analyst at a major bank recently coined the term vanity capital to refer to the crucial market of conspicuous consumption, and—not to fear! —it is an exponentially growing one.]
See the official site of the mural in the Harvard Sustainability Office website.
Rongo Rongo
Hare Nga Poki, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), 2018
This mural encompasses all the walls of a children's library in Rapa Nui (Easter Island). The library was painted pro bono, with inspiration from the local language, history, culture, and children's stories. Rongo Rongo is Rapa Nui's mysterious system of writing. Numerous attempts at decipherment have been made, yet it is still not clear what the tablets found on the island read. Nevertheless, Rongo Rongo as a holder of ancestral knowledge evokes the importance of maintaining the rapanui language and culture alive, including by teaching young children how to speak, write and read in rapanui. For this reason, the children's library's door features a moai-held rongo rongo tablet.
The time in the island and provision of supplies was supported by a Gardner Peabody Fellowship entrusted to Delfina 2017-2018.
