by Alice Connolly O’Brien // Nov. 26, 2021
As part of its ongoing exhibition ‘Más Allá, el Mar Canta (Beyond, the Sea Sings)’—curated by Pablo José Ramírez—Times Art Center Berlin is presenting a series of online conversations between the curator and his featured artists, as well as select artist screenings and performances. The exhibition, which opened during Berlin Art Week and runs until December 19th, explores narratives of migration from China to Central America and the Caribbean.
Pablo José Ramírez is a curator, art writer and cultural theorist who lives and works in Guatemala. He frequently visits post-colonial societies to consider non-Western ontologies, indigeneity, forms of racial occlusion and sound in his work and this exhibition is an exemplary those interests. The exhibition is named after ‘Más allá del mar,’ a poem composed by well-known Afro-Chinese Cuban poet Regino Pedroso. Evoking such a notable diasporic voice in the title of the show sets the tone for what Ramírez hopes to accomplish with the exhibition. Through the selected works, ‘Más Allá, el Mar Canta (Beyond, the Sea Sings)’ aims to highlight various narratives of migration as a starting point to dissect systems of kinship and ontologies of intimacy.
This project sees Ramírez explore his own diasporic history through his inclusion of a myriad of artists and media. The exhibition features work from pioneering Trinidadian painter Sybil Atteck, Brooklyn-based Caribbean artist Nicole Awai, Costa Rican artist Mimian Hsu, and more. The artists’ work in the exhibition speaks from a diverse range of diasporic, personal and collective subjectivities.
In addition to the exhibition, there is a full program of conversations taking place between Pablo José Ramírez and the featured artists. All conversations will be available to watch online. The first conversation has already occurred between Ramírez and Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, a performance, sculpture and installation artist whose work ‘Chiperrec (2021)’ is included in the show. The pair discussed Ramírez-Figueroa’s research into Chinese tea in Guatemala and the archival evidence that inspired both this particular work of his and his practice at large.
The upcoming conversations will feature more selected artists from the curation and discussions about their personal inspirations, interests and cultures. The next conversation, taking place this Saturday, November 27th, will see Ramírez speak with Colectivo Hapa, Esvin Alarcon Lam and Mimian Hsu. For the third conversation, he will meet with artists Nicole Awai, Christopher Cozier, Haishu Chen on December 4th, and the final event will be an online screening of works by Richard Fung and Peng Zuqiang, held during the finissage weekend. The conversations are available to watch online and will remain online after their occurrence for ease of viewing.
Exhibition Info
Times Art Center Berlin
Group Show: ‘Más Allá, el Mar Canta’
Exhibition: Sept. 16-Dec. 19, 2021
Online conversation: Nov. 27, 2021; 11am and Dec. 4, 2021
www.timesartcenter.org
Virtual Viewing: publications.timesartcenter.org
Brunnenstraße 9, 10119 Berlin, click here for map
