Shango - We Are Here Because You Were There
Shango - We Are Here Because You Were There | 2017
Shango | Digital Throne | UNTITLED Art Fair | 2022
Shango | Digital Throne at Untitled is the third iteration of Afro-Caribbean conceptual artist Yelaine Rodriguez's immersive altars. Rodriguez's body of work examines the history of enslaved Africans who fought to gain their freedom and those who risked their lives trying to obtain it. Her artistic practice explores Afro-syncretic religions as a pillar of Afro-diasporic resistance and cultural inheritance.
Shango | Digital Throne comprises CRT-TVs adorned with sculptures and handwoven fiber arts custom-made by Rodriguez, with video works dedicated to Shango, the orisha of justice, dance, and thunder. In collaboration with Mare Residency Founder Auttrianna Ward, this version incorporates additional video offerings by Afro-diasporic artists biarritzzz (Recife, Brazil) and Taína Cruz (New York, US).
Rodriguez's multi-media installation considers religion's unifying role, bringing diasporic groups together. Shango | Digital Throne comes to life with a performance by Kaila Paulino centering Afro-Diasporic cultures in the Caribbean, Latin America, and the United States. Shango | Digital Throne installation and activation are a meeting between Ward's 2021 online exhibit Digital Legacies 2.0 and Rodriguez's ongoing research and digital-based practice.
El Machetazo De Shango | Solarplate Etching | Edition 15 | 2020
Taken by Herstory | Silkscreen Print | Edition 30 | 2016
Rodriguez sources syncretic religious traditions found in African diasporic communities, such as Vodou and Santeria, to conceptualize wearable art and costume design. These are activated when worn by people whom she imagines to possess the characteristics of specific deities. A commentary of the existence of a new Black culture generated from the New World focusing on Yoruba, Orishas. This project is composed of costume designs, photography, and video. Breaking away from stereotypes of Santeria and Vodou religion the artist focus on Shango Orisha or justice, dance, and thunder. Shot at a preserved Native American trail in The Bronx. Afro Dominican singer and performer Carolina Camacho as Shango.
Photo Credit Yelaine Rodriguez + Melanie Gonzalez
Performance Photos by Patricia Encarnacion