2018AlfordTylaina . Presentation: Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales

Harmonia Rosales is a Afro-Cuban artist whose work is focused around people of color. She tries to defy stereotypes in her art and focuses on women empowerment. Raised in a patriarchal society, Harmonia was taught that men were the leaders in society. For example, in the household, typical gender roles were reinforced while her abuela would cook and clean, her abuelo provided for her family. In patriarchal culture, men have full control and the women go through self-sacrifice. Women are represented in a way where they must disregard themselves and satisfy everyone else’s needs, which leads to lack of happiness. These dynamics affect individuals because it gives them preconceived customs to follow and teaches one to disregarding personal feelings. Given these social norms Rosales married but eventually got divorced and was left with nothing. She eventually created art as a form of mental liberation and female empowerment. Therefore, Rosales specifically focus on women and people of color in her work. In specific, she likes to focus on Black art in order to show the beauty and strength that lies within people of color and wanted her daughter to feel comfortable in her own skin and kinky hair. Overall, her inspiration is her daughter and she wants to implement self-love within her community as it is reflected in her art.