Lisa Edge dives into William Hernandez‘s collaborative exhibition in June 2018’s Real Change.
ArtXchange gallery in Pioneer Square is an inviting space no matter whose work is displayed on its walls. The ambiance is akin to the living room of an aesthete who believes in the accessibility of art. The gallery serves as the perfect backdrop for a new show with the central theme of connection. “Poetic Translations: A Visual Journey” is a collaboration between Peruvian artist William Hernandez and writer Christa Kaainoa.
Hernandez’s paintings are rich in color while Kaainoa’s poems are rich in details that transport the reader into a specific scene. His vision of her work leans toward a complementary rather than a literal translation. Kaainoa didn’t give him any limitations on how to interpret her poetry.
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Hernandez’s paintings are often dreamlike, melancholic and humorous. “My Morning Routine” shows a typical room with hardwood floors, curtains on the window and a phonograph on top of a cabinet. In it a man has just opened a closet door to find an elephant standing in between two blue shirts, its trunk hanging over the rod. It’s an unexpected scene fit for a fairy tale, and the two aren’t afraid of one another. The accompanying poem, “Skeletons,” begins with the sentence, “If I had skeletons in my closet instead of clothes, I would pull them out of my room and we would have peppermint tea with milk and honey.” The poem doesn’t mention an elephant, but Hernandez used one rather than skeletons as a nod to a Peruvian phrase that roughly means when you have something heavy on your back, you’re always carrying it with you, whether it’s good or bad.
“I tried to translate my own experience as a Peruvian living in Portland, carrying things, carrying my culture, but I put it in a closet,” said Hernandez.
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