Radamés ‘Juni’ Figueroa
Born in Puerto Rico in 1982, Radamés ‘Juni’ Figueroa builds systems that evoke and celebrate life and life pondered; life lived and made corporeal through the recurrent markers in his oeuvre – climate, flora, fauna, clothing, canteens. That which marks and permeates all of his works is the idea of things tropical, of life lived in the tropics. The notion of the tropical is not only a visual reference but considered an artistic statement, a stance, forever constant. Figueroa has created spaces in different parts of the world that promote the ready interaction between the artistic practice and its coexistence with spectators. A good few words to sum up Figueroa’s practice are those of the Puerto Rican musician Ismael Rivera, who in his song Seis de Borinquen states:
“Tengo un sabor a playa en este cuerpo y un sabor a coco que me quema
una canción nocturna en mi garganta, manchas de plátanos corren por mis venas
traigo rumor de olas en mis orejas y ecos de tambores que arrebatan. ”
- Ismael Rivera