Girmitya HerStories

2024 | Porcelain ceramic substrate, stainless steel rings, ceramic decals, silver leaf, found object, photography on aluminum

Girmitya HerStories brings to light the little-known histories of Indo-indentureship from 1838 to 1917, when 1.5 million Indians were signed into servitude to work the sugar plantations in the British Colonies. Half a million landed on the shores of Trinidad, Guyana, Surinam and Jamaica. They replaced/displaced the slaves after emancipation. The artist photographed ten Indo-Caribbean Canadian women from diverse backgrounds, each holding a portrait of a female ancestor. The portraits have corresponding video shorts that locate each woman in the double diaspora -- from India to the Caribbean, to Canada – and tells something of the story of their ancestor. The ceramic piece weaves together portraits of these same women with archival family photographs fired onto industrial porcelain tiles to create a ceramic tapestry. The piece is installed on a piece of period furniture. Images of the kala paani, ‘black waters' are to integrate visual rhythm, and to signal the hardship of the ancestors’ voyage during their migration to a new land.

Download the free app Artivive to view video HerStories directly from each portrait.