Dhara Rivera

As a multimedia artist based in Puerto Rico, my practice is rooted in research and observation, responding to the layered environmental histories of the archipelago. I am particularly drawn to fragile encounters between humans and the more-than-human world-interactions shaped by Puerto Rico’s ecological richness and vulnerability to environmental devastation. Each piece begins with a personal curiosity that leads to material and archival investigation. These inquiries often focus on circumstances that reveal tensions between human activity and more-than-human agencies, such as the impact of development on bodies of water. I seek to expand the concept of preservation -creating works that reflect entangled relationships between memory and territory, body and place. My installations incorporate digital media, live performance, and multisensory elements, encouraging active engagement rather than passive observation. 

With a foundation in sculpture, my material language includes concrete construction, carving, mold-making, and ceramics, alongside craft techniques such as embroidery and crochet. These tactile processes allow me to explore how objects hold memory and mediate relationships across time and space. The works I create are living stories-open-ended narratives that evolve across time and place. Like the natural systems they reference, they continue to grow and shift. By fostering dialogue about our relationships with the more-than-human world, my work

invites new ways of seeing, feeling, and remembering.