Heading to the ‘Motherland’: New _gaia Exhibition Opens Tonight at NJCU
By Jon Whiten • Mar 4th, 2010 • Category: Arts, Featured
New work by 10 women exploring themes of immigration, identity, home, culture and family will be on display starting this evening at New Jersey City University, as _gaia unveils the latest exhibition to spring from its annual Wonder Women residency program, “Ah, Motherland!”
Once accepted, the 10 artists accepted for the residency met for six straight Sundays at _gaia studio in Downtown Jersey City for “an exploration of (im)migration, feminism and identity as they relate to art making,” says Doris Cacoilo, who co-curated the exhibition and residency with Renata Moreia.
“[The residency] is an opportunity for more established artists to work with emerging artists to create a dialogue around the chosen themes in an environment of mentorship and learning,” Cacoilo says.
The work itself is varied, ranging from video pieces to fiber works to photography to a traditional Indian textile that harnesses solar energy. What brings it together is a feminist perspective on a term — “Motherland” — that connotes womanhood in its own right.
“The term ‘Motherland’ became a point of departure as well as dissection,” she says. “Motherhood and home were ideas revisited constantly throughout the project literally, figuratively and conceptually.”
But beyond the synergy between womanhood and “Motherland,” a broader cultural analysis and framework helped set the tone of the discussions, and, ultimately, of the art.
“Many of the artists were already aware of the effects of ‘home’ and identity politics in their work, while others explored these for the first time,” Cacoilo says. “When speaking of ‘other,’ oppression, power and struggle, feminist theory and gender analysis are important lenses to look through. When discussing the personal experiences of otherness we found that, through readings and discussions of gender studies and a feminist theoretical discourse, we could develop deeper meaning and correlations to push the work conceptually.”
“Ah, Motherland!” opens tonight with a reception from 4:30 to 8:30 pm (including a 6:30 pm Fado performance) in Room 120 of the Michael Gilligan Student Union at NJCU (2039 John F. Kennedy Blvd.). There will be a closing reception and artist talk on Thursday, March 25, from 7 to 9 pm. At all other times, the gallery will be open by appointment. Contact Renata Moreia for more info (rmoreira@njcu.edu or 201-200-2269).
The show includes work from: Christine da Cruz, Pamela-Cleo Godard, Giana Gonzalez, Willa Goldthwaite, Anjelika Krishna, Lizette Louis, Roxana Marroquin, Holly Pitre, Sonali Sridhar and Agnieszka Wszolkowski.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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