Mapping Debris: Caribbean Art, Volcanoes, and Colonial Legacies
In a conversation featured in Afterall on 11 August 2022, author Adiva Lawrence engages with artists Nyugen Smith and Minia Biabiany to delve into themes of Caribbean existence, heritage, and identity. Lawrence, who has ties to Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Martinique, employs the imagery of three volcanoes—Montagne Pelée, La Grande Soufrière, and Cold Soufriere—to illustrate the impacts of colonialism and displacement. Smith, whose roots trace back to Trinidad and Haiti, investigates trauma through his bundlehouse series and showcased 'Untitled Boat No.1' at the 2014 Biennale Internationale de Martinique. Meanwhile, Biabiany, from Saint-Claude, produced the video 'Toli Toli' (2018) for the 10th Berlin Biennale. Additionally, Lawrence reminisces about her trip to Dominica and the Cold Soufriere volcano in 2014.
Key facts
- Interview published 11 August 2022 by Afterall.
- Written by Adiva Lawrence as part of Writer-in-Residence.
- Conversation with Nyugen Smith and Minia Biabiany.
- Three volcanoes: Montagne Pelée (Martinique), La Grande Soufrière (Guadeloupe), Cold Soufriere (Dominica).
- Nyugen Smith's bundlehouse series began in 2005.
- Smith's Untitled Boat No.1 shown at first BIAC in Martinique (2014).
- Smith's Bundlehouse: Borderlines maps merge Caribbean islands.
- Smith's performance 'The Other side of Now' imagines Caribbean plate fracture.
- Minia Biabiany's Toli Toli (2018) shown at 10th Berlin Biennale.
- Biabiany's J’ai tué le papillon dans mon oreille addresses land poisoning and knowledge loss.
- Biabiany learned bamboo weaving from an elderly fisherman in Vieux Fort.
- Lawrence visited Dominica in 2014, saw father's ruined house in Clifton.
- Cold Soufriere volcano in northern Dominica near father's birthplace.
Entities
Artists
- Adiva Lawrence
- Nyugen Smith
- Minia Biabiany
- Julien Creuzet
- Deborah Jack
- Laurent Voulzy
Institutions
- Afterall
- Biennale Internationale de Martinique (BIAC)
- Regional Council of Martinique
- Campus Caribéen des Arts
- Harvard University
- Seton Hall University
- Berlin Biennale
- Cité des Arts
- Bétonsalon
- Dutch National Museum of World Cultures
Locations
- Belle Île en Mer
- Marie Galante
- Marigot, Dominica
- Dominica
- Martinique
- Guadeloupe
- Basse-Terre
- Le Morne Rouge
- Fort-de-France
- Saint-Claude
- Vieux Fort
- Clifton
- Mexico
- Paris
- Trinidad
- Haiti
- United States
- Suriname
Sources
- Afterall —