Transformation Gate
Attempts to Be Many, Philara Collection, Düsseldorf
2021
Body extensions deal with social performance and hyper-femininity. Prints refer to female Goddesses and symbols of Caribbean diasporic empowerment.
The large-scale installation “Transformation Gate“ creates an open membrane in the entrance hall of the museum. Prints on opaque foil with silicone and collaged objects depict hints to the Goddess Ishtar, the Lion of Judah and the deep sea. Body extensions, such as body pads, synthetic hair, nipple pasties and fake nails with silicone deal with social performance and hyper-femininity. These represent the cultural body and aim to decode feminine attributes as strong and self-empowered.
The wallpaper “Ishtar Wall“ weaves together the research fields between the looted Ishtar Gate which is now located in Berlin, the story of the Goddess Ishtar as war leader and Goddess of femininity and beauty, Caribbean diasporic empowerment through the symbol of the lion Judah, and a transformed self-portrait. Two paintings on top of the wallpaper create new layers of connections between these ideas, visualizing maps, within this temple-situation of maximalism.
