i come to do a violence to the lie, Vanessa German for the Matrix series at the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
I felt something in the shadowy-bright gallery in a cool corner of the museum wing. I was riveted to the wood paneled floor, overwhelmed by a sense of magic.
You can feel the power radiating from Vanessa German's squadron of guardian figures. In spite of their doll-like figures and proportions, and armor-encrustations of toys, jewelry, and other found objects, they project an unmistakable fierceness.
The round cheeks and chubby fingers evoke a sense of innocence, but their formation, and the symbolism of the many materials that make up their clothing and headdresses speak to the generational trauma of slavery and racism. The mirrors they hold up leave nowhere to hide, and their machetes and staves send a clear message.
The work is personal and political, reminiscent of individual talismans and funeral statuary from many cultures, but also clearly speaks to the dynamics of race and oppression in the United States.
The colorful layers of textures, objects, and symbolism remind me of the aesthetic around Tia Dalma in Pirates of the Caribbean, and Swoon's Thalassa installation at the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Thalassa, by Swoon at NOMA, 2011
My video of the experience is above and here on Youtube.
You can also learn more about how German gathered the materials for this work, and her other projects, in an interview with the artist on independent radio station WPKN.
German's own website is here on Tumblr, for more insight into her multidsciplinary body of work.
See examples of her work with Hartford children as a guest instructor at Real Art Ways' Park Art.
German's installation in the Matrix gallery at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, CT will be in place until September 4th.