LISSY ALTA
SDQ/JFK

 

LA MATRIARCA

La Matriarca (The Matriarch), began with my love and admiration for my grandmother, Cristina Jimenez. A woman who sacrificed a cozy life in the Dominican Republic to bring me and my family to the United States. Our immigration and subsequent assimilation led to very little knowledge of my countries past and the loss of a valuable trade. During a year-long Library Artist Residency at the Bard Graduate Center, I was given the time, space and support to learn my history, learn how to sew and reclaim parts of my ancestral past that I thought I'd lost forever.

A heartfelt and special thank you to: Heather Topcik, Anna Helgeson, Jazmine Catasús, Jesse Mineo, Isabel Jimenez, Miledys Jimenez, Kenny Mora, every single Taíno that preserved the island of Quisqueya, and most of all mi mamá Cristina Jimenez por todos sus sacrificios.
Exhibitions:
  • 2023 - Uprooted, Loisaida Center, New York, NY
  • 2021-2022 - La Matriarca (Solo), Bard Graduate Center,
                                New York, NY

Hand-Sewn Cyanotypes on Organic Cotton Cloth
Varying Sizes

Inkjet Prints of Yuca Developed Black & White Film
8” x 10” and 24” x 30”