Leila Mattina Gregory, "Geografia(s) del Jiquilite al Añil" at Cuchifritos Gallery

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil Material Suplementario (Reader), 2023. Photo: Brad Farwell.

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil is the first U.S. solo exhibition by Puerto Rican artist Leila Mattina. The exhibition encompasses artworks and documentation that traces indigo production in the Puerto Rican archipelago. Through research and material-based work, Mattina shares insights garnered from the cultivation and processing of different types of indigo in Puerto Rico and their interconnectedness in the Caribbean and Latin America.

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil Material Suplementario (Reader), 2023. Photo: Brad Farwell.

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil considers how blue–the color that indigo produces–connects us within and to the Archipelago, physically, historically and politically. The exhibition showcases varieties of seeds, unprocessed fibers, powdered indigo, and a mortar. All produced and sourced from Puerto Rico, these materials are gathered from TRAMA Antillana, a farm in Aibonito, Puerto Rico founded by the artist. TRAMA Antillana educates the public on the processing of natural dyes and fibers, alongside the chemical constituents and historical significance associated with these materials.

This exhibition aims to illuminate overlooked or eradicated craft practices in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean due to colonization, extractivist practices, destruction of natural resources, and modernization in the name of “progress.” For the Puerto Rican archipelago–a land so fertile, yet prevented from producing and exporting local goods by its colonial relationship with the U.S–Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil offers pathways for self-governance and self-determination.

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil Material Suplementario (Reader), 2023. Photo: Brad Farwell.

Geografía(s) del Jiquilite al Añil is organized by Natalia Viera Salgado and co-presented by Artists Alliance Inc., Abrons Arts Center, and Pública Espacio Cultural as part of La Residencia.

Currently on view at the Cuchifritos Gallery + Project Space, (located inside the Essex Market) 88 Essex Street, No. 21 New York, NY 10002, through November 18, 2023, during regular gallery hours (Wed-Sat, 12-6p).

La Residencia is a collaborative residency partnership between Abrons Arts Center (New York, NY) and Pública (San Juan, PR) and made possible with funds provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.