The Matriarchs by Cristina Molina

February 9- March 9,2017

Panther Alumni Week Exhibition : “The Matriarchs” by Cristina Molina

Main Gallery

Artist Lecture and Opening: February 10th 6pm

Artist: Cristina Molina FIU BFA ’09

Description:

In The Matriarchs I collaborate with all the women in my family to produce a series of still-life photographs, portraits, and cinematic imagery. References to mythical protagonists such as saints, deities, and other famous icons are interjected throughout. The images emphasize physical gestures of connectivity, hierarchy, balance, and tension–all allusions to the relational dynamics that exist between women in family units. Set in the subtropics, the work conflates female identity amidst a disappearing South Floridian territory. Ultimately this series is about contemplating loss while maintaining that the feminine presence is tender, generative, and powerful.

Statement and purpose:
In my latest work, The Matriarchs I collaborate with all the women in my family to produce a series of still-life
photographs, portraits, and cinematic imagery. On a personal level, the work contemplates the relational
dynamics between us. To bring forth ideas of unity and lineage, I referenced the aesthetics of tribal culture and
produced a repeat-pattern that is printed on all the clothing we wear throughout the project. By designing this
uniform of sorts, it becomes apparent that we are part of the same sect. The imagery also pulls from famous
female icons. References to saints, deities, and other mythical protagonists are subtly interjected into the work.
The individual portraits are staged so that each woman directly confronts the camera. The group portraits are
staged so that my family is split into two—the paternal and the maternal. In both images the “Matriarch” of the
family is centralized, while the rest of her family surrounds her. The images emphasize physical gestures of
connectivity, hierarchy, balance and tension.

To learn more about Cristina Molina click, here.

http://nolafront.org/