Proyecto Capital

Photo by Alejandro Mina

I met visiting artists Mar Molano and Alejandro Mina from Columbia here studying English. Through our interactions I got to experience Trinidad & Tobago in new ways as pseudo-host and I also got to experience my own Latin identity as pseudo-interpreter. Based on the time we spent together we decided to collaborate on a project documenting some of our experiences around finding coins on the street.

We called it Proyecto Capital and it was shared at Alice Yard. We showed a map that showed where all of the coins were found; we showed a mound of all the coins collected; and a slide show of photos of the coins when they were found.

This, http://proyectocapital09.blogspot.com/, is the blog we created to document our process and the event.

Proyecto Capital

This project is based on observation. On our daily route through Port of Spain it is possible to find a large amount of money in the streets. Apparently insignificant to the local eye but to the foreign eye it suggests a comparison with the city they came from, Bogota, and other cities. The idea is to collect the money and document the process to later make an installation. It seeks to make one reflect on the gesture of throwing
away coins and collecting them to then re-insert them in the society; changing its capital value for a symbolic one.

Erotic Art Week

lingum- the sacred male sexuality

This painting was shown at Soft Box Studios for the first Erotic Art Week in Trinidad & Tobago. It was originally from the series called, The Temple of Local Sexuality from 2008.

More can be read about Erotic Art Week on their blog, http://eroticartweektt.blogspot.com/

Below is the interview for the show



There was also a review done in the Trinidad & Tobago Review, it can be read here.

3rd Red Earth

The Heart of my Alter

For Red Earth 2009: Dream time I sought to transform the wall of shelves from the Mystic Masseur house into an altar; it is spelled Alter to signify that it is about process/change/transfiguration. I used natural objects, found objects and personal objects for the transformation of the space.

Red Earth is an Eco-Arts festival celebrated every year in Trinidad & Tobago since 2007. This is the second time I took part; last year I was in a group piece choreographed by Sonja Dumas. Her piece was about the preciousness of water.

Carnival: Girl in the Box

'A Camera to Capture You With'

The Carnival Celebrations in Trinidad and Tobago cause me panic, tension and discomfort. In 2009 I decided to surrender myself to those feelings. I came out on to the streets dressed in a full length tunic, a mask/ box on my head and a camcorder strapped to my chest. I was dressed prepared for a symbolic confrontation. I was completely covered, so I was invisible but I had a camera to record every threatening moment that is the 'Parade of the Bands'.

All I did was follow the follow the bands as did many others who would not pay an exorbitant amount to play Mas barely dressed and within the barrier of rope and security guards. Some people interacted with me and surprisingly it was not too threatening. As I walked between crowds some people played the top of my box-head as a drum and others, much later in the night tried to get me to take it off. Surprisingly none of this bothered me; it was expected and somehow pleasant to have this kind of interaction.

This character functioned as a vessel to see and record but not be seen itself. The sensory experience were as traumatic as could be imagined. It was hot being covered completely; it was uncomfortable having to constantly adjust the costume; it was difficult to see through the eye-holes in the box and the music from the trucks were unbearably loud. Most astonishing was that the other people's behavior was not in any was assaulting to me. Somehow all my armor made me feel safe in the chaos. I was able to view them objectively as if I was watching them on t.v. , they were all 'nobodys' who could do me nothing.

Me in Costume during the Carnival in Woodbrook

Interestingly I learned much later in the year that Box Mas is another Traditional Mas that is almost completely extinct. In 2010 Adele Todd performed another version of it. More on her portrayal can be read on her blog http://adeletodd.wordpress.com/

At the end of the year I put for sale some of the documentation of this work at the Alice Yard Shop opening. Photos from the event can be seen on the Caribbean Free Photo's Flickr Photostream

Sugar Baby Doll

Photo by Arnaldo James
'Sugar Baby Doll'

In 2009 I performed versions of the Traditional Mas Character: The Baby Doll. I performed it first at Victoria Square P.O.S. and the second time at U.W.I. St. Augustine Campus for Taking Back the Night.

The character is dressed like a doll in frills and other decorations. In her arms she carries a doll which symbolizes a baby born out of marriage. The masquerader stops men in the audience accusing them of being the baby's father; and confronting them with their responsibility she asks, 'Where de Money?'

Performers can take as much license as they want with the script what remains constant is the crowd interaction; accusing males of being the irresponsible father of their child. In my piece I became a pregnant school girl who was in a relationship with a 'Sugar Daddy' but he left 'me' once I revealed I was pregnant for him.

Photos by Arnaldo James

'Pretending to be Happy!'

The Second time I played Baby Doll it was at U.W.I.'s Taking Back the Night. There was a march, vigil and rally. I did a performance called 'Pretending to be Happy!' . It was motivated by the recent abuses (many that ended in death) of women and children that were reported in the media.

Video of 'Pretending to be Happy!'





More photos from both events can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/m_isava/sets/72157624578237550/

Marked For Life

‘Marked for Life’ is a literal and extreme depiction of Susan Bordo’s statement that Patriarchy damages the female body. In it I perform a ritual of marking myself by various means with self- cutting as the climax. These marks represent the different ways men are capable of marking the female body. The marks also parallel the permanent damage that women can experience in both subtle and overt ways as a result of patriarchy.

This is my second 'play' after 'The Machine', (performed in 2008). The performance is divided into three scenes and is directed by a self produced audio track. It was performed at Alice Yard.

A play in three scenes

Scene One: I begin with a confrontation of the self as a reflection; with a glass screen in between myself and a mirror. I do a pathetic back and forwards step of trying to get through the glass to get to the mirror. The cam corder feeds a projection of the back of my head creating a disorienting effect as it seems to swing back and forth right next to the actual image of me facing the crowd stepping back and forth, awkwardly hitting the glass that confines me (see Figure One). This creates three versions of myself; subject, reflection and projection. It presents the idea of a fragmented or schizophrenic identity.

Scene Two: I sit at the table where I have four different marking tools. The section of the audio includes narration that tells the story of being marked by different men. The first marking is ‘marriage’; for that I prepare the sindoor[1] and place it on my own head. It is an awkward parody of the actual act which is supposed to be loving while I enact an act abandonment and betrayal. It drips pathetically down my forehead suggesting blood and domestic violence. Then I heat a ring and burn it into my side; this represents the marking of male territory again similar to marriage. Afterwards I heat a Kalchol[2] on a candle flame and pull down my skirt to reveal a tattoo near my hip, another mark of male ownership. Once it has been heated I place it firmly on the tattoo to obscure it. Subsequently I take staples and cut into my thighs by dragging it firmly across.

Scene Three: After these re-enactments, re-inscriptions I am purified from the contamination of male touch. So doing I invoke the Virgin Mary and take her mantle and place it on my head and walk out of the room to face the audience. I experience a transfiguration and I become the kind of statue of christian pilgrimages that invokes passion. A member of the crowd spontaneously began to cry and another fainted.

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[1] A red liquid used to symbolize marriage status for Hindu women and is first applied on the bride’s forehead by the groom during the marriage ritual.

[2] The indo-creole word for a large cooking spoon.