Tabernacle of the Dough

In his work, Lind Ramos often explores the links between Loíza, a historically Black town in Puerto Rico, and the African diaspora throughout the Antilles as experienced through carnival characters. Trained as a painter and draughtsman, he began incorporating three-dimensional objects into his canvases in the late 1990s and now creates mostly large-scale installations, assemblages, and videos. The materials he uses, including dried coconuts and palm tree refuse, can be found in the area around his studio in Loíza. His assemblage sculptures often honor construction workers, musicians, cooks, and artisans through the inclusion of their tools, some of which also happen to be important symbols in Afro-Caribbean religions and traditions.

In this piece, Lind Ramos incorporates objects reminiscent of the food trade in his hometown and honors the workers of the industry, the keepers of tradition of fried and stewed delicacies. The names of several people, often family members, are inscribed in the wooden plates kept inside the lit aluminum showcase, alluding both to the foods that are kept in similar containers in kiosks along the coastal town, and reliquaries that keep sacred objects.