Transformer’s Siren Arts program is thrilled to present I’m Present: My Body, Beyond the Ephemeral, a solo exhibition by Cuban artist Yali Romagoza. This exhibition challenges the notion of ephemerality in performance art by positioning the female body as an enduring trace across multiple mediums. 

“Rooted in my experience as a Cuban-born artist, this exhibition explores themes of presence, displacement, and resistance through performance documentation, fiber-based sculptures, and interactive installations.” - Yali Romagoza

I’m Present: My Body, Beyond the Ephemeral subverts the idea that performance is fleeting; instead, it asserts that the body leaves lasting imprints—on fabric, space, and memory. This exhibition examines the politics of visibility, migration, and gendered labor through performance relics, sketches, and objects that allow the performance to persist beyond the moment of enactment. Textural fiber sculptures and self-portraiture extend the conversation, materializing the body’s imprint across time and form.

The site-responsive approach engages with the Asbury Park beach and Atlantic Ocean as a threshold—a space of crossings and transformation where bodies arrive, disappear, and persist. By integrating these various elements, I’m Present highlights the resilience of the female body and the lasting impact of performance beyond its ephemeral moment.

ABOUT THE ARTIST /

Yali Romagoza works at the intersection of performance, design, and art. She integrates prior professional fashion design experience with extensive visual art practice in various media, including video, installations, drawings, and experimental costume design. She has presented work at the North Carolina Museum of Art, The Immigrant Artist Biennial, the Satellite Art Show, Abrons Art Center, EFA Project Space, and PS122 gallery. She has been granted awards and residencies, including Franklin Furnace, SVA Art Residency, EmergeNYC, Queens Art Fund, and the EFA Studio program. In 2022, Ediciones Rialta (Spain) published her book Cuquita La Muñeca Cubana with a selection of her most critically acclaimed performances. Romagoza has a BA in Art History from the University of Havana in Havana, Cuba, and an MFA in Fashion Design from The School of the Art Insitute in Chicago, US.