By: Kyrie Sismaet By: Kyrie Sismaet | July 5, 2022 | People, Art, Awards, Events, Women of Influence Latest, Community,
Such intersectionality is channeled within all of their works, producing inimitably personal, reflective, and critical pieces which, as the BAMPFA Curatorial Assistant Claire Frost underscores, "center indigenous, queer, and diasporic identities and ways of being." In no particular order, here is a rundown of this superb six and their specific visions and mediums, so that you can know what to become excited for with your next upcoming visit to this exceptionally insightful museum.
See also: 5 Spectacular New Bay Area Museum Exhibits to Anticipate This July
Erica Deeman visualizes her experience of relocation and the African diaspora as a first-generation Black British person through ethereal iridescent scuptures of the comforting okra. Beneath the many hanging okra pods intriguingly sits a nondescript plexi-glass scupture hand molded by Deeman, which with its transparency and ambiguity, reflects the colorful pods and mimics both water and the Black diasporic identity's dynamic fluidity, movement, and reflection.
Frías emphasizes their ancestral Wixárika language with their vibrantly colorful "Hixiapa" (all elements 2022) piece, which immerses the viewer into a playful, yet critical, neon liminal space waiting room that functions as a dismally futuristic "treatment center."
Such contrast between physical mediums, along with its uncanny accompanying video, challenges the purposes and effectiveness of "new age" healing via digital and passive entertainment.
Hambira is known for his trailblazing documentary filmmaking, which boldly centers on stories highlighting shared perserverance through colonial oppression and racial conflicts. For this exhibition, he has alluded to former President Trump’s mispronunciation of the country Namibia at the United Nations in 2017, drawing attention to his ignorant xenophobia while utilizing traditionally cultural textiles.
Kaddoura's poignant piece focuses on highly on memory, and the subtle stimuli that mirrors and connects similar recollections. Particularly with her experience in San Diego, the otherwise bucolic coastal landscape happened to instantly transport her Ain El Mraisi in Beirut, and have her recall memories of her maternal grandparents.
Ahn Lee clevery employs traditional Chinese lanterns and other motifs to illuminate the otherwise forgotten feminine and queer Cantonese histories. This hanging piece exposes the fraught history and racist relationship San Francisco once had with Chinese Americans and immigrants, from silk worms, to sex work, and more.
Louissaint plays with the themes of fogginess and haze to depict the hazy visions of societal progress clouded by capitalistm, imperialism, and racism. Along with their intricate expertise on contemporary architecture, their piece envisions what beneficial structures could entail if not for current exploitation and oppression, invoking an empowering and critical sense of hope, anger, and change.
Catch these creatively thought-provoking masterpieces at the BAMPFA only until July 24th!
See also: Liminal Space Is San Francisco's New Trans-Centering Gallery
Photography by: Adrien Olichon/Unsplash
