Trenzadas
2022
Presented by CPR – Center for Performance Research as part of its Sunday Salon series, Trenzadas is an immersive memory-scape that depicts the connection between geographical spaces, the body, and identity. Created and curated in collaboration with Doménica García, this two-day exhibition incorporates soft sculpture, video, audio, photography, and performance, immersing the audience in a surreal space, inviting self-reflection. Through the use of nostalgic imagery, hair, soil, and movement, Trenzadas explores the deep connection between the land and the body as well as the ways in which identities can intertwine through memory.
Trenzadas live durational performance. Center for Performance Research April 9th, 2022 Photographer: Meicen Meng
Trenzadas live durational performance. Center for Performance Research April 9th, 2022 Photographer: Meicen Meng
Trenzadas live durational performance. Center for Performance Research April 9th, 2022 Photographer: Meicen Meng
Trenzadas live durational performance. Center for Performance Research April 9th, 2022 Photographer: Meicen Meng
Trenzadas live durational performance. Center for Performance Research. April, 2022. Photography: Meicen Meng
The installation created for CPR’s Storefront Gallery comprised of 250 feet of woven hair and 400 lbs of soil. On the opening night, Damken and Garcia activated the installation with a 3-hour durational performance. Presented alongside the live performance installation was a large-scale video projection in CPR’s performance space which incorporates archival and original landscape footage and audio from the artists’ motherlands: México and Ecuador.
Visitors observing 3-channel video projections in CPR'S Performance Space. Photographer: Meicen Meng
Visitors observing 3-channel video projections in CPR'S Performance Space. Photographer: Meicen Meng
Visitor observing the hanging braids in CPR's Storefront Gallery Space. Photographer: Damariz Damken
Visitors observing 3-channel video projections in CPR'S Performance Space. Photographer: Meicen Meng
Trenzadas 3-channel video projection and installation. Center for Performance Research. April, 2022.
Photography: Meicen Meng, Domenica Garcia, Damariz Damken
After the opening, visitors were invited to experience the installation directly by entering the performance space. Relics from the performance were later incorporated within the exhibition and displayed alongside a sculpture made out of Damken's own hair and a series of photographs made in collaboration with photographer Meicen Meng.
Contemplarme a mi misma dormir (left) Retrato de dos muchachas y sus trenzas sagradas (right) Digital Archival Print 8 x 11 in / 11 x 14 in Framed Printed at SoMad Gallery
Musas de Memoria y Presagio (top left) Disputa entre mi Orgullo y Paciencia (bottom left) Aguante tanto tu insufrible apatía que no reconocí mi desbordante resistencia (center) Tuve un sueno en el que me encontraba conmigo misma de niña, jugábamos y al despedirnos me desperté (right) Digital Archival Print 8 x 11 in / 11 x 14 in Framed Printed at SoMad Gallery
Aprendí a confiar en mi (left) Y abracé mis fragmentos (center) Quise arrancarme el coraje que me crecía de encima pero mis brazos no alcanzaron (right) Digital Archival Print 8 x 11 in / 11 x 14 in Framed Printed at SoMad Gallery
Contemplarme a mi misma dormir (left) Retrato de dos muchachas y sus trenzas sagradas (right) Digital Archival Print 8 x 11 in / 11 x 14 in Framed Printed at SoMad Gallery
Trenzadas Photo Series, 2022
Digital Archival Prints
8 x 11 in / 11 x 14 in Framed
Trencé mi cabello entre mis dedos cortados y susurré una oración, 2022
Human Hair and Soil
Acrylic Shadow Box (15 x 5.5 x 7 in)
Dresses worn during opening performance, 2022
Trenzadas is supported, in part, by an Emergency Grant from the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, and SoMad Gallery.
Sunday Salon is an extension of CPR’s Artist-in-Residence (AiR) Program, and provides a platform for AiRs to share their current practice with the larger CPR and NYC performance community. Sunday Salon may take many forms, including presentations of live work, artist talks, and presentations of research, materials, and ephemera.