Based in Miami, artist Ema Ri has an interdisciplinary approach to art making. Ri’s practice is informed by personal experience and an exploration of materiality.

Cuban American and queer-identified; Ri has found art to be the ideal medium with which to explore themes of cultural identity, inadequacy, displacement and exile.

The Museum of Art and Design (MOAD) tapped Ri to be its first featured artist in its inaugural Artist in Residency program at Miami Dade College’s Padrón Campus. Since the artist is keenly interested in investigating how elements evolve, it should have come as no surprise that Ri slowly transformed the empty gallery into something quite distinct and personal. Ri used wire brushes to scratch or “draw” on the largest wall in the gallery, the resulting mural exemplifies how the artistic process and the incorporation of unconventional materials are pivotal aspects of Ri’s practice. No graphite, charcoal or ink was used for the mural, instead the artist relied on the strong wires of brass brushes that are generally used for cleaning rust or welding slag, to create or leave marks on the wall that resulted in delicate and precise nature-inspired landscape. It is a technique similar to the silverpoint or metal point used during medieval times to create illuminated manuscripts, and later favored by artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer during the renaissance. Because of the medium, the wall drawing will transform over time. The traces of metal will oxidize and the silver-grey colors will eventually change to warm brown or sepia tones. Furthermore, what makes this mural remarkable are the fine lines, subtle shading, and sensuous surfaces that are worth admiring up close.

Because the artist repurposes elements to create something new, they chose drywall as a medium for several new artworks; some were chiseled generating sunken reliefs while others were peeled off presenting a ‘sagging’ surfaces or sculptures. Along the new works, Ri brings an earlier piece titled Orpheus, Thrice (YEAR)—inspired by Félix González-Torres’s "Untitled (Orpheus, Twice)” (YEAR)—which references the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, appearing as a metaphor for the act of seeing and creating. The piece consists of two tall carved panels of drywall placed next to each other, which appear like a portal and play with the notion of accessing another space – perhaps this was created by Ri as an unconscious escape since they’ve confessed feeling out of sorts, judged and uncomfortable by most communities and on many instances. It is worth mentioning that this is an anchor and very personal piece for the artist, who refuses to put it on sale, because it brings them much comfort.

Ri’s material choices convey specific meanings, evoke emotions, provoke thoughts and challenge traditional notions of art as merely representational. Exhibited on the floor for example, are two vessels that the artist created using resin and dehydrated flowers amongst other materials. To create these two containers, the artist repurposed residues or materials from earlier artistic projects, like wall shavings from an exhibition at Dimensions Variable alongside resin, plaster and mud which were chosen specifically to maintain the fragility and beauty of the organic materials and add depth and permanence to the ephemeral nature of flowers. The use of resin allowed Ri to ponder about time, beauty and memory while preserving the flowers at the same time. The end result were vessels that can almost serve as time-capsules, and because Miami faces significant environmental concerns and sea level rising in the upcoming decades, in the artist’s own words: “these works will outlast us.”

Ri created several oil paintings while on his residency. They are mostly darkly hued flower paintings set within a dim background with subdued lighting. The artist did not use paintbrushes or palette knives to make these but relied mostly on their fingers to apply the paint on the canvas, as well as their nails with which they scratched or removed paint from the surface. Ri mentioned that they emotionally respond to color, and the choice of darker tones is because for them these artworks are a metaphor for death. These paintings have a gothic influence, conveying themes of mortality and the transient nature of life.

The artist is intentional in relating the materials used in their artworks to human experience, because Ri believes artworks absorb information, have a past and evolve as we do. Ri wishes to raise questions through art, they believe in communication through art because it is the language they are most comfortable with.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Ri’s residency was the opportunity of visiting the space or peeking through the glass doors every week or as often was possible and seeing how the artworks Ri was working on had changed or mutated. Hopefully the open studio visits, activities and contact that Miami Dade students, staff and general public had with Ri during his residency at Padron Campus led to new assessments, connections and thought-provoking conversations that will enrich and inspire Ri’s practice from now on.