Taína
Made with Acrylics in Las Terrenas, The Dominican Republic.
Ancestors
Coming back into my roots has been a revelation. Becoming more grounded in my body and what my ancestors had for me in my skin cells. This piece for me was a coming together of those pieces of myself. The parts of me that are connected to my current family, as well as the family that I have that is based on this land that I call my Mother Land, The Dominican Republic.
Collaboration
I brought in a local Taino artist to help me anchor in symbols, building a better relationship with each meaning behind each symbol, while also bringing in the nature growing in from the home this was painted on. I laid out the symbols intuitively based on this, allowing the Moon Goddess to be at the corner of the piece, symbolizing the different phases of the moon we connect ourselves with each month, following the symbol of the children, eternal lovers, as well as the sun.
Duality
I played with a lot of ongoing contrasts and inversions with this piece. I love keeping things super simple so you can let your eyes rest on the details of the mural without being overwhelmed by it. I kept the color palette very minimal for this reason. The contract is meant to show you the division that can come across in the current catholic environments of these streets, that come across local customs before Catholicism, and the non-verbal dance these two cultures now have to dance daily. Keeping the culture alive before and after the introduction of catholic belief systems. At the end of the day, this mural plays with ways of reintroducing our connection to the natural environment while bringing in symbolism honoring those who have walked before me. A lot of this mural is a dedication to bringing back more of the natural world into the forefront, in a beautiful way without it feeling invasive to its environment.
Home
This home has been a part of my family now for over 60 years. 12 children grew up here. It’s where my mother, the eldest, grew up and holds a lot of fond memories. As the environment around it keeps changing and “modernizing” we aren’t sure how much longer my grandmother is going to keep living here. As many of us have similar notes these days with a lot of modern changes. As things change, This mural serves as a way of memorializing a bit of that memory by offering something from a future generation to the present one. My Grandmother still lives here, her life circulates around here and is supported by the many memories held here with her husband who passed very early on in their lives together, the sons lost, but also just as important the incoming life coming in from the growing family.
