Artist's Statement

The Reclamation Project aims to remind us of what our community was like before all the concrete was poured. Through this installation, mangrove seedlings will conceptually reclaim an island where they thrived a few decades ago. Their reforestation will create a mangrove colony on Biscayne Bay, eventually rebuilding natural ecosystems above and below the water line. Through this process I explore our ability to coexist with the natural world.

About the Artist

Xavier Cortada was born in Albany, New York and was raised and lives in Miami. The Cuban-American artist holds three degrees from the University of Miami. His work has been shown across four continents and is in the permanent collection of The World Bank. Major collaborative art projects include International AIDS murals in Switzerland and South Africa, peace murals in Northern Ireland and Cyprus and child welfare murals in Bolivia and Panama. Through his art, he attempts to reclaim Florida's fertile past. The concrete columns that hold up I-95 through downtown Miami now bear Cortada's mark: in 2004, he led volunteers in painting colorful mangrove seedlings on columns across four neighborhoods, a metaphoric re-foresting of Miami. He has elaborated on the mangrove metaphor in murals he created for Miami City Hall, the Miami-Dade County Commission Chambers, the Florida Capitol, and the Museum of Florida History. For more information, please visit www.cortada.com.