Biography
Katherine Miranda is a non-binary, Latinx artist born, raised and based in the Bronx. In 2021, they were a New York Community Trust Van Lier Fellow at Wave Hill Gardens where they held their first solo show, I Answer Back. Miranda’s work has also been exhibited in places such as The Yard: Williamsburg, The Point CDC, Bronx River Art Center and Brooklyn College. They have also been featured on BronxNet, NBC New York, Pix 11 News and The New York Times. Miranda received their BFA from Macaulay Honors at Brooklyn College.
Artist Statement
I am interested in objects of ritual as records of their owners’ existence, habits and identity. It is the collection of these used, discarded articles of everyday life that forms the foundation of my practice. Through layering and assembly, these acquired items transform into sites of rebirth. This metamorphosis takes shape in the form of collage, sculpture and installation.
Specifically sourcing material from my immediate surroundings, the objects in my work often reference Bronx culture, familial childhood experiences, Latinx history and its relationship with the United States. Old hoop earrings and chains that belonged to either myself or my mother transform into hanging red, white and blue dreamcatchers that allude to the motherland of the Puerto Rican diaspora. Used Café Bustelo coffee packaging from Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx becomes a vibrant base for image transfers that trace my family’s history. Letters written to my departed grandfather are torn and made into paper pulp, molded into tree branches and torn apart again to become fertilizer for gardens.
Utilizing this cycle of reinvention, I aim to not only provide visibility for my ancestors, my family and my community, but to also reclaim the narrative of our experiences. Our family’s histories are often the main connectors we have to our identity and ancestry. Through the reclamation of our experiences, I hope to honor and provide space for our ancestors whose own histories were lost and left discarded.
