Wendy Nanan art on show at US museum

The works of Trinidadian artist Wendy Nanan will be on exhibit for three months at the OAS Art Museum of the Americas (AMA) in Washington DC.

The exhibition begins on March 19 and continues until June 14, and is curated by Trinidadian-Canadian scholar Andil Gosine.

The exhibition of art and sculptures covers Nanan's creations over the last four decades, and several new pieces will be debuted.

Among her memorable pieces are of cricket at Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, when she went there for matches with her parents.

"These drawings are remarkable for their intense observation and quick calligraphic rendering in the Japanese zenga manner, of cricket in play at the Queen’s Park Oval. Occupying the AMA’s largest gallery, this exhibition marks the first time that so many of the works are seen together," according to a statement from the AMA.

The museum said Nanan has created a series of eight new pod-like sculptures for the exhibition. "Constructed from papier-mache and sea shells that the artist has collected over regular trips to Manzanilla beach along Trinidad’s Atlantic coast, and sculpted in the form of a vulva, the series is centrally concerned with the anxieties about women’s bodies and sexualities."

Additionally, four brightly-coloured papier-mache sculptures complete the show: Idyllic Marriage – depicts a marriage between the Hindu god Vishnu and the Catholic Madonna in a space that is part-temple, part-church. "Nanan thrusts into an interrogation of the necessary discomfort of mixing in the Americas, slyly observant of both the productive rewards and violence of hybridity. The piece simultaneously invites critique and reflection about male-female relationships and the historical institutionalized marginalization of women," the museum states.

Also, a new Baby Krishna from her series that reimagines the Hindu deity Krishna, will also debut. The original series of four papier-mâché sculptures presented an answer to the question, “What happens when Asia comes to the Americas?” Nanan’s depictions "not only add Christian-signifying angel wings and a halo, reflecting the reality of cultural mixing in the region, but also various items (including sugarcane, salt, and oil) that signify the industries that were socially formative across the region. The resulting work is neither blasphemous nor celebratory and is offered instead as a catalyst for contemplative interrogation of our times."

The museum notes the recurring theme of cultural changes in the Americas.

"The Bounce from her oversized book series continues the artist’s exploration of shared struggles and spiritualities across the Americas. In this work, lyrics from the epic Billie Holiday song are the background text to the bounce between the Hindu god Ganesh and The Lion of The Twelve Tribes. It references the “bounce” shared between Barack and Michelle Obama on election night, a time when universal forces colluded to say we have finally overcome.

"Finally, Persona charts the artist’s biography in nine phases.

Accompanying the series will be the debut of a 22-minute video on the artist by the curator.