Soraya Marcano

Soraya Marcano obtained an MFA from Pratt Institute. Her mixed media work has been exhibited internationally and it is represented in public and private collections. Marcano has participated in international artist-in-residence programs and she is the recipient of several recognitions and awards. Her artwork, which includes painting, drawing, collage, sewing, writing, and computer work, provides a layered exploration of the convoluted nature of the neo-colonial citizen. By combining historical research and personal narratives, as they relate to the concern of circular migration and mobile livelihood, she investigates how family histories about moving between different geographical areas are part of the Puerto Rican historical condition of intense waves of migrations and how they contribute to a transnational discourse. In her recent work, attached materials hang and spread out of the surface, creating layers, transparent veils, hairy surfaces, and bags. Some of the imagery is rooted in memories, such as clothing, boats, luggage, hangers, flowers, and body parts.