Governor's Island: "Tropical Frequencies"

    Tropical Frequencies at LMCC at Governor's Island showcased six artists from the Caribbean. The artworks are meant to engage with the alternate realms these artists explore in their processes. These realms are shaped by Caribbean cultures, the artists’ roots, and their connection to the land itself.

Tiempo de Zafra, La Bandera, 2017, found objects and discarded materials

       Tiempo de Zafra's is a multidisciplinary collective based in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, who works with found materials and waste to elongate its life and speak on consumption. La Bandera, 2017, creates a Dominican flag out of trash and waste found near Avenida George Washington in Santo Domingo, a beachy seafront area, otherwise known as "el Malecon," or “the seawall.” Some of the found materials in TDZ’s work that  I could pick apart were a Hielo Colonial bag, a denim belt loop, many pieces of lingerie, and the same curtain found in my aunt's own kitchen, with chickens on its border. This work becomes simulacra, showing us familiar objects and a shape we recognize and turning it into something new. Other works by Tiempo De Zafra do the same. 

Tiempo de Zafra, Monstruo Marino, 2019, entaglement of discard waste

Monstruo Marino, 2019 or "sea monster," is composed of object found on "El Malecon," unified into massive installations. They hang from the ceilings and take up space in the gallery, inviting you to walk around and under them. Somos Todas Estas Cosa, 2017-2020, which translates to "we are all these things," is a video installation that features found footage from protests, garbage dumps, and nightclubs. It has the viewer reflect upon the way they walk about the world, and what they leave behind. The works ask us, "What happens to the things we no longer need?"

Tiempo de Zafra, Somos Todas Estas Cosas, 2017-2020, video

~Jay Vargas-Garcia*

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