complex , as an academic , working professional artist . I am older , more introspective . Didn ’ t expect these things to affect my process as much as it has . I have been flirting with revisiting the characters and bringing them up to speed with my own life changes and experiences .
You mentioned that it is loosely autobiographical work how much of Wanda Raimundi -Ortiz yourself shines through this character ? Honestly , all of my work is loosely autobiographical . Wepa Woman and the other characters in the stories were versions of my personality : multiple voices , ideologies , clashing concepts of self , culture , accountability , community . It is where I worked out ( and uncovered ) the nuances of the politics of my multiple identities . I was able to pull each persona out and develop them individually . I guess I still do that now , with the queens , in a much more elaborate way . The work is where I try to figure stuff out — power dynamics , external influences , internal dilemmas . Art making is how I try to make sense of the world ( s ) that I live in .
You currently have a show running at the Cornell Fine Arts Museum , Displacement : Symbols and Journeys . Could you elaborate more on the show and what works you have included ? I have one work in the Displacement show … a drawing of my mother as the Queen Mother . She is the epitome of displacement and resilience . She arrived in this country in the 50s with a small baby and another on the way , 20 years old and unable to read or write . Somehow she and my dad managed to raise seven children on one Puerto Rican
left : Bargain Basement Sovereign ( Queen Series ), photo by Dominic DiPaolo below : En El Rio , wall drawing
El Camino , wall drawing
man ’ s wages . She got us up and ready for school , pushed us to excel . There are now four women in my family that hold master ’ s degrees . She pushed herself to learn how to read at the age of 60 or so . The catalog where her portrait is published is a book she can now read on her own .
Her existence and resilience is why I do what I do . I cannot imagine having language as the ultimate barrier , that her story never be told or recorded , that a life as amazing as hers be erased if not documented . In my drawing , she is wearing a crown made just for her . Without her , there would be no me , no art , no queens , no court . She IS the Queen Mother . My success as a professional is evidence of her presence on this earth .
Do you have anything in the works at the moment ? I have several irons in the coals right now . I am currently showing several drawings of key women in my life at the Cornell Fine Art Museum at Rollins College and at the American University ’ s Katzen Art Center in Washington DC . This body of queen drawings are of women that have been important to my growth as a woman , as a ‘ queen ’. They are the Royal Court — where I , as a woman and creator , have been groomed and cultivated , where I draw my courage , where I go for wisdom , comfort , support , rejuvenation . These drawings are where I have spent the bulk of my summer and will spend the next year or so . Along with another very intimate performance and a memorial created for the victims of the Pulse tragedy here in Orlando . I am also preparing for a solo show at Longwood Art Gallery in New York .
Orlando ’ s Art Scene , v . 1.3
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