Arístides Ureña Ramos

Appropriating the emblem of banana company Chiquita Brands, Panamanian artist Aristides Ureña Ramos reflects on the history of his homeland and its connection to the history of the banana trade. Utilising a fast and loose brushstroke and a colour palette limited to warm, tropical colours, Ureña Ramos creates a series of paintings that represent an exoticised and sexualised version of the iconic female figure that, even now, forms part of the Chiquita logo. 

This reinterpreted emblem appears in the centre of the painting, distancing itself from the pop art aesthetic of its inspiration and introducing allusions toward Italian Renaissance art. 

Ureña Ramos, who studied in Italy and has lived in Florence since the 1980s, creates cultural bridges throughout his works which simultaneously reference the past of his native Panama and that of the Italy where he now lives.

Rather than just critiquing the impact of the establishment and abuse of banana enclaves in Panama, Ureña Ramos instead utilises the appropriation of the Chiquita Brands logo in reclaiming a collective memory.