Transmit – Transit

Text by  artist-curator Ricardo Miranda Zúñiga

“Ramos Fermín has engaged in deconstructing an element of local space to investigate just one detail of modernity and globalization.  He has not done so as a traditional artist, walking the streets of the Bronx, getting lost in the vernacular of the city to generate creative musings that reflect one person’s vision.  Instead he has worked as an investigative journalist or documentary filmmaker. Ramos Fermín has logged several hours of video interviews with livery cab drivers, he has visited several dispatch offices, diners, gas stations, car repair shops… the local spaces of the drivers.  Over several months, he has engaged with the livery cab community to learn of its reality, document it and create an engaging portrayal that is both attentive and serious.  The final outcome of his investigation is a rich installation that attempts to capture the hardship and diversity of the trade.  And the encompassing device of the installation is the live radio feed from cab livery dispatches surrounding the gallery.”