Daniel Lind-Ramos, a sculptor and one of the breakout stars of the 2019 Whitney Biennial, assembles his distinctive and engrossing sculptures with materials salvaged from the streets and beaches near his home and studio in Loíza, Puerto Rico. “For me, objects are loaded with experiences, whether personal or collective, and I’m interested in exploring that weight, in visual terms, the weight of the object,” Lind-Ramos says in a video interview made for this major solo show at MoMA PS1. “Memory has to be preserved, and that can be manifested in the care of the object, an object that represents that memory.”

The monumental found object sculptures on view in El Viejo Griot—Una historia de todos nosotros (the elder storyteller—a story of all of us) are imbued specifically with memories of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico in 2017, killing more than 3,000 people and causing more than $90bn in damage. Incorporating tarpaulins, ropes, coconuts, parts of boats, musical instruments, palm fronds and much more in the piece, Lind-Ramos conjures figures and scenes that appear simultaneously ancient and futuristic, yet unmistakably current.