The Things We Lay to Rest
an exhibition by Root Division Latinx Teaching Fellow and Studio Artist Wally A. Corona.
Rooted in the artist’s own experiences and shaped by the socioeconomic textures of his environment, these works emerge from the rawness of everyday life, embodying a gritty sense of resilience as discarded materials are salvaged artifacts of story and memory.
Meanwhile, Corona’s methodical, labor and time intensive approach to mark-making—often spending months at a time on a single piece—functions as a contemplative resistance to disposability. Through this process, the artist meditates on the effort needed to discern what to hold on to and what to abandon, reflecting on the quiet, often unseen acts of cultivating meaning from chaos.
In this way, The Things We Lay to Rest unfolds as both a personal archive and a broader inquiry into the emotional archaeology of everyday life, as Corona invites us to consider what it means to nurture the remnants of our past.
Written by Vanessa Perez Winder
2024-2025 Exhibitions Fellow