In Case You Missed It (ICYMI): Piecing Together The Fragments

Posted by on .

Suchitra Mattai and Wendy Nanan discuss the importance of belonging and giving voice to Indo-Caribbean histories in their respective practices and works featured in Fragments of Epic Memory

Wendy Nanan, Nelson Island, 2012. Papier-maché and acrylics. Overall: 36 x 52 x 12.3 cm. Courtesy of Wendy Nanan. © Wendy Nanan.

Multidisciplinary artists Suchitra Mattai and Wendy Nanan may share similar regional origins (Muttai hailing from Guyana and Nanan from Trinidad, both islands in the Caribbean), but they express the diversity of lived experiences within the Indo-Caribbean diaspora from distinct perspectives. In December 2021, the AGO invited both artists to come together for a virtual conversation, moderated by writer, critic and academic Dr. Ramabai Espinet. The essence of their discussion traced their approach to artmaking, while also describing their works featured in Fragments of Epic Memory, displayed in dialogue with select post-emancipation era photographs from the AGO’s Montgomery Collection of Caribbean Photographs.

Suchitra Mattai, Demerara Dreams, 2019. Artist’s mother’s sari, gouache, acrylic, faux flower, oil on printed fabric. Overall: 167.6 x 132.1 cm. Courtesy of Paul and Heather Wilkinson. © Suchitra Mattai.

Click HERE for the full discussion with Nanan and Mattai as they describe their work in Fragments of Epic Memory, and their respective paths as contemporary artists.   (via AGOinsider)