Hello, I’m Sofia Santana, a multidisciplinary designer and printmaker from Portland, Oregon, currently based in New York City.
DESIGN / PRINTMAKING
Hello, I’m Sofia Santana, a multidisciplinary designer and printmaker from Portland, Oregon, currently based in New York City.
DESIGN / PRINTMAKING
Photography by Julia Freund
Layered Histories: Muralism as Latine Representation within Urban Landscapes celebrates the public works of art found within metropolitan communities through a set of three risograph-printed, accordion-bound artist's books. This work aims to honor the art created within urban spaces, highlighting the significance these forms of spatial layering have had in changing the narrative of urban landscapes into ones that represent the Latine communities that populate these spaces.
Inspired by the legacy of Los Tres Grandes, this work consists of vivid imagery of Latine neighborhoods across communities found in New York City, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Through the inclusion of mural guides, insights into local organizations, and interviews with residents, this work encourages readers to form social connections with members of the featured communities. Each city is represented through a unique pairing of colors and showcases the murals that have become integral components in preserving Latine history, stories, and identity within these urban landscapes.
Whether it be through the cultural imagery, language, or colors of these public works of art, these murals function as an essential tool for Latine people to archive the history and stories shared amongst community members and act as a method of resistance to the erasure and neglect faced by Latine communities throughout the nation.