The termite might be an unlikely symbol of the commonwealth relationship between Puerto Rico and the U.S., but for Charles Juhasz- Alvarado—a sculptor who lives in San Juan—the insect has become a kind of idol. At Exit Art, where the artist has his first solo show in New York, the wood-munchers are numerous: Several of them, four feet tall and with spiky mandibles, greet you at the door. An even larger winged version hangs from the ceiling, and, nearby, the bugs’ dome-like nest becomes an afro for the goddess Daphne. “I started working with the termites because I realized they were my absolute enemy,” says Alvarado, whose favorite material is cedar. But research led him to learn that the bug, prevalent in the Caribbean, requires symbiosis with a micro-organism in order to survive. “They need this thing,” he explains, “to come into their bellies and live there, and live there forever”—an analogy (even if a little obscure) that he saw as representing Puerto Rico’s dependence on the U.S.”*
Posted on:
May 28th, 2008
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