Re-Shaping the Sugar

Re-Shaping the Sugar‍

Curated by Yohanna M. Roa at White Box Gallery, New York, NY.

The first translation of the word Caribbean into a European language dates back to 1492, found in the journals of Christopher Columbus. From his gaze facing the incomprehension of a culture alien to his, having a completely different perspective of the world, Columbus mistakenly decided to name cannibals all inhabitants of the lands we now call The Lesser Antilles. The process of creating the Caribbean is confusing and contradictory, and full of contrasts subject to the geopolitical changes that have occurred over the last 500 years. Within the framework of Black History Month, WhiteBox Presents “Re-shaping the Sugar”, an exhibition that investigates the Afro-Latin roots present in the memory of ‘Black America’. The show includes the work of seven relevant Caribbean artists based in New York City, Juana Valdes, Coco Fusco, Alicia Grullon, Renluka Maharaj, Jodie Lyn-Kee-Chow, Joiri Minaya and Jacqueline Herranz-Brooks. Their exhibited works challenge the historical, geographical, and political delimitations of what we call “Caribbean”.