Tony Capellán

Tony Capellán collected these commonly worn sandals along the bank of the Ozama River in Santo Domingo where they had washed up. The toe strap from each flip-flop has been replaced with barbed wire, transforming this footwear into a symbol of political and economic hardship and undercutting the stereotypical view of the Caribbean Islands as a tropical paradise.

Arranged in a grid on the gallery floor, the hundreds of used flip-flops in Mar Caribe create a blue and green expanse reminiscent of the surface of the Caribbean Sea. The artist collected these sandals, which are commonly worn in the Dominican Republic, along the banks of the Ozama River in Santo Domingo, where they had washed up. A closer look reveals a jarring detail that belies the postcard beauty the piece mimics: the toe strap from each flip-flop has been replaced with barbed wire. Through the artist’s intervention, this ordinary footwear becomes a symbol of social, economic, and political hardship, undercutting the stereotype of Caribbean countries as secluded tropical paradises.

The bright-blue flip-flops were collected by the artist after they had washed up along the Ozama River as it passes through the city of Santo Domingo. A closer look reveals that these sandals - intimate artifacts of the tropical urban poor - are symbolic of societal and economic ills; the artist has replaced the rubber toe straps with barbed wire.

Las brillantes sandalias azules que componen esta instalación fueron recogidas por el artista a las orillas del río Ozama en Santo Domingo después de haber sido arrastradas por la corriente. Vistas desde cerca, se descubre que estas sandalias, artefactos íntimos de la población urbana pobre del trópico, funcionan como iconos del dolor social, puesto que el artista ha sustituido las correas de hule de las sandalias por alambre de púas.

Courtesy of the artis