Exhibition Dates: March 13 – June 27, 2020
Opening Reception: 6 – 9 PM Friday, March 13, 2020
Artist Talks: 6:30 PM I Hallway Gallery
Art League Houston (ALH), a FotoFest 2020 Biennial Participating Space, is proud to present Where We Are, an exhibition of recent work by Artists Micaela Cadungog, Veronica Gaona and Jamie Robertson (all currently living and working in Houston, Texas). Curated by Sarah Beth Wilson, Director of Exhibitions and Curatorial Projects at ALH, Where We Are explores how each of these artists use their physical body as part of their creative practice – highlighting intersections of identity, race, gender and place, and emphasizing both personal and shared collective experiences.
Both Gaona and Robertson look to their family history and the past for research and creative inspiration, developing a practice that concurrently intertwines their analyses of race, gender, history and, in Gaona’s practice specifically, borderland politics. Their insertion of the self in their photographic and digital practices through the literal use of their body gives the work a sense of personal immediacy and familiarity. In reference to her recent work examining the history of portraiture, Robertson states, “The portrait studio, a controlled environment, was a site of exploitation of people of color; where they were often posed in stereotypical situations. This series allows me to explore the history of Black Women in the Americas and how they were seen while simultaneously allowing me the agency of self-representation to confront perceptions of my own identity.”
Their artistic practices explore notions of temporality and ideas of how history impacts individual and shared futures. Gaona’s incorporation of her body into the landscape speaks to her family history as well as feelings of isolation and loss, “The body in relationship with the ruined buildings is a gesture that attempts to convey us to the past, showing us the decaying material as a concrete reminder of the passage of time. The ruined buildings suspended in time and history are critical nodes in understanding the Texas and Mexico borderlands.”
Similarly, Cadungog uses her body as a mode for recollection and personal narrative, creating cyanotypes on quilts that analyze dualities of the female body, sexualization, and personal experiences with violence and intimacy. “Here on these quilts, violence and tenderness coexist. Quilts are objects of comfort designed to protect the body in its most vulnerable state: sleep; but the quilting process is inherently violent as it consists of repeatedly and deliberately piercing fabric. Furthermore, bodies resting on these quilts are disrupted by invasive embellishments. Despite these embellishments, the quilt still functions as an object of comfort, providing a resting place for the bodies,” states Cadungog. Her textiles physically example these explorations, giving a tactility and immediacy that emphasizes both the personal and physical components of her artistic practice.
Where We Are is an exploration and activation of a gray space that breaks down dichotomies and boundaries instated by race, gender, sex, history and politics. Through the use of their bodies as subject matter, Cadungog, Gaona and Robertson activate this gray space, allowing their work to tell both personal, yet ultimately universal narratives.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Micaela Cadungog is a multidisciplinary artist dissecting the dualities of the female body: the conflict between shame and sexualization, the separation of the physical and emotional self, and the association of violence and tenderness. Drawing from her personal experiences, she traces her history of intimacy and its emotional impact. Her work, consisting of fiber works, photographs, and personal artifacts, attempts to regain comfort in physicality. Cadungog received her BFA in Photography/Digital Media from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas. Her BFA thesis show, It Turns Into Memory, was shown at Flatland Gallery in Spring 2019. In Summer 2019, she was a resident of Project Row House’s Summer Studios Program. She has exhibited in curated group shows at both Insomnia Gallery and Hardy & Nance Street Studios. Cadungog collaborated with other artists to organize soon-to-be-lost(now), a group show focused on memory, space, and the archive shown in the University of Houston Third Space Gallery.
Veronica Gaona (b. 1994, Brownsville, Texas) is a visual artist and educator living and working between Houston and Valle Hermoso, Tamaulipas. Informed by her identity and the current political climate, her art explores notions of situation, loss and migration by conducting location-driven research. Through photography, video, and sculpture her work looks at the shifting and multiple spaces at the border to better understand the complexities of contradictory forces. In 2019, Gaona traveled to Marfa, Texas, Paris and Nantes, France, to take part in DUST, a residency working at the intersection of spatial practice, critical theory, and contemporary art. Currently she is pursuing an MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in photography and digital media at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas.
Jamie Robertson is a visual artist and educator from Houston, Texas. She earned a BA in Art from the University of Houston, Houston, Texas, and an MS in Art Therapy from Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida. She is a former recipient of the Pearlie Roberson Award for her joint Frenchtown Mural project. As an educator, Robertson is interested in cultural community development through creative youth development. Her creative practice is an autobiographical examination of history and identity in the African Diaspora through the mediums of photography, printmaking, and sculpture. Her work was featured in Through the Lens: Identity, Representation & Self-Presentation at Florida A & M University’s Foster-Tanner Fine Arts Gallery, Tallahassee, Florida. She currently works as a Teaching Artist while pursuing an MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in photography and digital media at the University of Houston, Houston, Texas.