Sacred Geometry
The mandorla is a sacred shape that appears in both eastern and western art – symbolizing the union of opposites, the overlapping of two spheres (often Heaven and Earth). The piece weaves together my disparate histories as a child of diaspora, histories of my Indo-Caribbean ancestors which includes West African slavery, South and East Asian indentured labor, colonialism, neocolonialism, trauma, and survival. Demerara refers to the region of South America where my mother is from (Guyana) and the type of sugar (Demerara Gold) that was grown on the plantations that my ancestors were transported to the region to work on. The paint on the wood matches the color of some exterior walls on our family’s rice farm, and the rusted steel, chicken wire, and jute rice sack reference the farm as well.