Mapas del Cerro (2016 – Present)

Chemi Rosado-Seijo’s Mapas del Cerro continues his long-term engagement with the community of El Cerro, a rural, working-class community embedded in the mountains of Naranjito, Puerto Rico. The project was initiated in 2002 by painting the exteriors of residents’ homes in different shades of green, paying homage to the way the community has been built in harmony with the topography of the mountains where it stands.

In 2010, Rosado-Seijo and the El Cerro community began the process of repainting the homes. In preparing the surface of the walls, they scratched and peeled off layers of paint accumulated over years. These remnants were saved and later brought into the studio for re-examination. By framing the readymade forms created by the paint fragments, Rosado-Seijo developed a series of works cataloguing artifacts from the project, while referencing topographical maps that the paint fragments resemble. The fragments are presented as specimens, viewable from either side, revealing residues from bygone years.

For more information, visit the Kadist page on Mapas del Cerro.