I've been in Mauritius for about 10 days now, working on my new photography series 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀/𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆, to be exhibited as part of my upcoming solo at the @centre_des_arts_visuels in March 2023. The days have been long and arduous, physically demanding, but I have been blessed to find dreamy, joyous, creative and dedicated collaborators in @ashvin.ramdin and Mervyn Gopal, who have been supporting me through this creative process. Doing this work has been a beautiful testament to how much I have grown, as an artist and as a queer/trans Mauritian since working on the 𝗕𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗧𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝗺𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 series a few years ago. I now come to this work with a more profound artistic vision, and so much more confidence in allowing the fullness of my queer being to take up space on the island. 𝗤𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝘀/𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗕𝗼𝗱𝘆 delves into the spiritual space that exists between the queer racialized body and the island body. Through meditations and ritual-performance captured through photography, I recreate an ancestral, decolonial and hybrid frame from which to rewrite and reinscribe the queer femme body onto the nationalist space of the island. Here are some outtakes from the project! I cannot wait to share the full-breath of this new work with all of you! This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the @canada.council Photo credit: @ashvin.ramdin #queeringtheislandbody #photography #mauritius #mauritiusartist #queermauritius #transmauritius #art #artist #performer #performance #poet #poetry #visualart #visualartist #exhibition #exhibit #lgbt #lgbtq #queer #trans #transgender #femme #montrealartist #island #body #lamackerel #kamalamackerel #zomfam (at Mauritius, Indian Ocean, Africa) https://www.instagram.com/p/CloFkbsoYDP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=
