Xavier Cortada, American
Testamento, 2020
Xavier Cortada’s Testamento, a work of archival ink on aluminum, suggests the potential destruction and loss that sea level rise will have on coastal communities. The artist’s use of archival documents, specifically a deed to a house in Miami-Dade County, places the personal connection between residents and their homes at the front lines of the rapidly changing coastlines due to climate change. Cortada pictures these documents to resemble buildings, now deeply immersed in the rising tide of the ocean. Cortada’s work acts as a political outcry, urging us to work towards the conservation of coastal ways of life. Label by William Armacost