Botanica Magica, 2017, ink on yupo, approx. 8 ft x 34 ft -- installation at Pelican Bomb Gallery X, New Orleans, LA as a part of the exhibition "Queer Tropics," a satellite exhibition of Prospect 4
In a new site-specific installation commissioned by Pelican Bomb, Adrienne Elise Tarver explores the tropics as a landscape that mythically and historically connects the African diaspora. The figures in this new room-sized collage suggest the female archetypes that pop up across cultures and traditions, from the Yoruba religion in West Africa to Haitian Vodou and Euro-American Christianity. These connections, created by the global effects of colonialism and migration, are particularly evident in New Orleans, a historical crossroads. Tarver’s practice often includes painted and sculptural foliage that reveals limbs and other body parts peeking out between the leaves, never quite giving the viewer a clear vantage point. Voyeurism is an integral part of Tarver’s scenes, which ask the viewer to interrogate the act of looking itself and the power dynamics inherent to the gaze. -- Charlie Tatum, Curator, "Queer Tropics" at Pelican Bomb Gallery X
