Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons
Web presence
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maria_magdalena_campos_pons/
Works
My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese: China Porcelain
Date
2008
Video, 5:48min
Description
María Magdalena Campos-Pons’s work coincides with the rise of the New Cuban Art movement which began as a reaction against the repressive aspects of the Cuban state. A large part of this artistic movement was the introduction of Afro-Cuban presence, both as artists and within the art itself. Campos-Pons investigates a felt history, through the intersection of nonspoken narratives and resilient culture, rendering elements of personal history and persona. As a result of the invitation to participate in the 2008 Guangzhou triennial, she investigated her Chinese ancestry and created the installation My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese: China Porcelain. The video included shows her in front of a mirror and performing a sort of ritual. She wears a Yoruba mask, which she later removes to paint her face white and cover her head with a veil, like a porcelain doll, suggesting a resemblance between the figures while also revealing a multifaceted and different appearance between Africa and Asia.