My newsletter to keep up with Untitled no. 89

Untitled no. 89

Have you found what you’re looking for?On Oriyamar, there have been a string of murders and disappearances, the latest being Josefina Aurelia Cruz. As the island reacts, speculates, and searches, Josefina’s best friend Ovidio is pulled in by the spirits haunting the island to guide him to the answers. He starts to see that what he’s looking for goes much deeper than he expected.

Artist's Statement

Every piece of work in the Untitled no. 89 universe looks to explore the depersonalization of victims of gendered violence and the way they become part of the mythological canon of our culture and society through true crime and chisme. Particularly in Latin America where feminicidio still haunts society, there is a deep history of myths and cuentos about female spirits that stalk the night, and Untitled no. 89 seeks to ask "what if those ghosts that terrorize nightgoers are misunderstood, and maybe even victims themselves?" I particularly focus on myths from my region of Colombia to break previous expectations and ideas around the women in these stories and explore the cyclical nature of this kind of violence.My work uses many mediums and a collage approach to uncover the voice of spirits whose stories have been lost to violence and to show the disjointedness of the trauma (to those that directly experience it, their loved ones, and their community) that results from it. Painting, photographing, inking and then cutting, tearing, taping all show the way real people's stories are lived, torn apart, and reconstructed over and over until they become a general mythos that aligns with society's larger values.Gendered violence is a traumatizing force all over the world but casts an especially long and terrifying shadow over Latin America; this horror has not only found itself in our graves but also across every warning from a well-meaning abuelita, every machista judgement of someone who has been harmed, in every fear we inherit to just exist in the world. My work looks to examine this structure and break it through through the format of comics and mythology, writing mythologies where we can avenge some, protect others, and find closure in the senselessness.

Planned Projects

Within the Untitled no. 89 universe and timeline I have a few projects planned to tell the full story:★ A webcomic eventually turned book: the main body of Untitled no. 89’s story is told through graphic novel format, with around 300-400 pages planned. The pages will initially be posted online and upon finishing each of the three arcs, I will get them printed as books.★ A novella: Veridiana in the story is a character who is trying to write and document the stories of the other ghosts haunting the island. As an addition to the main books I will write the contents of her book and show how memory and stories erode and change over time as she struggles to continue documenting what happened to these people who have lost their sense of self through death★ ARG/interactive site: A la 17776, Welcome Home, and other ARGs, I want to create a series of sites where people can experience the world of Oriyamar as if it’s real. They’d be able to dig through forums, news sites, and archives as the hauntings seep into their digital experience.★ Films: I have a few short film ideas to continue to develop the world of this story, focusing on the perspective of the shrouded and the Colombian mythology I am tying them into. I want to record on a 90s digital camcorder but mainly 8mm film to present a certain quality of color and texture to match the tone of the story.The plan is for all of these works to be available in both English and Spanish.