Victor Rivera

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Victor Rivera

2017 Annual Juried Competition 
Honorable Mention

Statement:
The ongoing body of work reflects the social dynamics of a working class community in my hometown in central Florida. Over the years of returning home and leaving again and again,the project evolved into an investigation of how familial bonds are formed and tested overtime. I am interested in how trauma, on larger social scales as well as intimate and private interactions impact and inform the construction of family, community and identity. Experiences of the fractured family I grew up in are echoed in the circumstances of the people I work with. Hope for the future often feels misplaced and tinged with the real probability of failure. These images speak to desires for both escape and inclusion while navigating shifting paradigms of family structure. The subjects participate in a shared narrative negotiating anxieties and certainties of social expectations. A kiss, a poke, aside long glance can be cruel or tender. Coming of age and fumbling through rites of passage is an ongoing process that is both social and individual. While my connection to this place becomes increasingly tenuous, my position as both an outsider and as a member of these communities informs the construction of the images.

Bio:
Victor Rivera was born in Puerto Rico, grew up in central Florida and is currently living in Upstate New York. Victor earned his Master of Fine Art degree at Syracuse University in 2014. He currently teaches as an adjunct instructor at Syracuse University and is the Exhibitions and Collections Manager at Light Work.

Artist’s website: http://www.victorriveraphotography.com/