Rosy Sunshine is a Queer-Dominican artist from the pre-gentrified Lower East side of Manhattan. Daughter of campesinos from Los Montones de Arriba in the Dominican Republic, she straddled two different worlds at all times: New York City madness and Dominican hysteria. Influenced by it all, Rosy Sunshine’s art is a strange and awkward, yet beautiful meeting of graffiti, folk art, trauma, Caribbean vibes, uncomfortable conversations and healing.
In the series, Ancestral Vessels of Feminist Resistance, Rosy Sunshine creates vibrant paintings of survival. Her color-filled goddesses explore the power to reclaim the physical realm and thrive after acts of gender-based violence. Exhausted by the countless stories of objectification, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, gender policing, as well as her own experiences with violence in many forms, Rosy Sunshine’s work builds a feminist tribe that forms an impenetrable fortress of delicate strength and fierce resistance. It’s a reminder that we have always been powerful, vibrant and present just as we are, no matter what we’ve survived. Centuries of ancestral strength and knowledge flow through us and we cannot be stopped. The series reflects that we continue to be vivacious, pulsating and beautiful in our paths towards healing.
Rosy Sunshine seeks to uplift and inspire survivors of violence. Her work also hopes to heal former perpetrators of violence who are actively seeking peace and rebirth. Her experiences capture both sides of the coin and therefore her healing must take place in both dimensions.
