Bananhattan
(from the "Manifestaciones" portfolio by the Dominican York Proyecto Grafica collective)

Artist Mendoza, Yunior Chiqui (born 1964)

Date2010

Dimensionsimage: 9 1/2 × 7 in. (24.1 × 17.8 cm)
sheet: 15 × 11 in. (38.1 × 27.9 cm)
frame: 21 1/4 × 17 1/4 in. (54 × 43.8 cm)

ClassificationsART, 2-DIMENSIONAL

Credit LineClara S. Peck Fund

Object number2022.10.3

DescriptionVerticle, rectangular print of a map of the island of Manhattan, transformed into a yellow banana. The banana imagery plays on the city’s fruit-themed nickname the Big Apple and illustrates the city’s history as a major port for banana shipments since the nineteenth century. The banana’s brown spots highlight neighborhoods where Dominican immigrants settled. The area of Washington Heights, a center for Dominicans in New York, is prominently circled and labeled with a bold red arrow. The words “WE ARE HERE” in the arrow is a variation on the phrase “you are here”, replacing the usual you with we and highlighting the artist’s identity as one of those Dominican immigrants. Mendoza’s choice of a map illustrating subway lines speaks to the experience of those who use public transportation, particularly the working class, and alludes to the movement of people, such as immigrants moving to the city.

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