#sexypink/Maria Nunes

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Sexypink - Photographer Maria Nunes captures the spectacle.

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Sexypink - A k u z u r u - In command of a world of her own.

Sexypink - Sonic Solaris - A k u z u r u

Sexypink - A k u z u r u

Sexypink - From the PerformanceArtist

A k u z u r u herself.

Presenting my new performative manifestation - Sonic Solaris - an early morning intervention amongst the Ficus and CannonBall Arboreals in the verdant Queens Park Savannah in Port of Spain - Trinidad . A magnificent cosmic interplay connecting the rising sun , primal incantations , floral olfactorics gesture and meditation .

((Norway / Trinidad

In conversations with artist Quinsy Gario from which this work has emerged , I am honoured to have been an invitee in the Sustaining The Otherwise -STO- , a very dynamic major international residency and workshop project collaborating with major art platforms in Africa and the Caribbean Diaspora .

This sphere of the program was hosted by Alice Yard POS - Trinidad & Tobago with the thematic Carnival as a Conjuring of History and Memory - February 2025 several art activations took place in various locations in POS by invited international artists from Africa , Europe and Trinidad in preparation for the multilocational exhibition and public program which will take place in 2026.

"With the topic of ‘carnival and the carnivalesque’ as a point of entry for critical engagement, we seek to explore the importance of mask making in relation to artistic practices within the region, and in relation to West Africa. ---'we will address the notion of ‘a carnival space’, touching on topics of ritual/memory, history/memory in relation to thinking about carnival as a conjuring of history and memory, highlighting the links between these topics/practices within a Caribbean context and as understood in relation to Africa."  

-I would like to thank and acknowledge the efforts of everyone involved :

International Artists :

Jelili Atiku

Robert Young

Syowia Kyambi

Amanda T. Mc Intyre

Luanda Carneiro Jacoel

Shari Petti

Quinsy Gario

A k u z u r u

Curators / co founders STO:

Amal AlHaag

Selene Wendt

Produced and hosted by Alice Yard co-directors :

Sean Leonard

Christopher Cozier

Shannon Alonzo

Kriston Chen

Nicholas Laughlin

Producer :

Marielle Forbes @baseline.projects

Photographers :

Elechi Todd

Marlon Rouse

Maria Nunes

Contributions :

Shanice Smith

Arnaldo James

#akuzuru #contemporaryart

@aliceyardinsta @sustainingtheotherwise

https://www.instagram.com/p/DGL1ZteRioC/?igsh=MTV5ZWpnczhnaDh5Yw==

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SEXYPINK - I missed this wonderful presentation in 2022. Thus I look forward to Crick Crack in 2023.

From the Facebook page of Crick Crack Traditional and Folklore Band  (2022) Sunday at the Coco dance festival a traditional mas character Babydoll decided to take the stage and bring the performance out of the carnival..I've learned alot in this process and will continue my journey in "becoming" you don't choose the mas it choose you! Special thanks to cocc family for allowing me to keep this thing we call art alive. The Uncanny doll

All photos are copyright by Maria Nunes

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The UWI Department of Creative and Festival Arts is hosting is Old Yard Traditional Masquerade event on Sunday February 16, 2020. The show will include an art exhibition titled "Baby Doll Mas: Old and New Interpretations." Participating artists: Kevin Adonis Browne, Rebecca M Foster, Abigail Hadeed Jackie Hinkson, Arnaldo JJ, Maria Nunes, Tracey Sankar-Charleau and Colin Williams. Curated by Marsha Pearce Doors open on Sunday at noon. Art exhibition continues until February 26, 2020 | 9a-3p Venue: Gordon Street, St. Augustine

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Sexypink - From Crick Crack Traditional and Folklore Mas Band

From generation to generation....16 year old Jude Charleau portraying the Dame Lorraine "Madame Bosee, the Old Woman and the Shoe" today at the savannah for Junior Individuals, Boys 11-17. His mother Tracey Sankar-Charleau and her sister Nadia Sankar played this Mas with their mother June Sankar.  Tracey's daughter Nathaniel and another of her sons Joshua have also played this Mas. Jude made the amazing shoe that you see on his back. Stunning details. While the Dame Lorraine is played extensively by women today, it is a mas originally played by men.  Jude made his own costume and the attention to detail was striking. What you can't see in this photo is that he had an exquisite shoe on his back. Will share a view of that in another post.

"At the start of the 19th century, Trinidad’s upper-class ladies dressed for masquerade balls in voluminous flowing gowns. Decked with exquisite jewellery, they danced elegantly through the night — observed through the windows by their slaves and servants. Naturally, these aristocratic ladies and their refined airs were prime targets for mockery when the freed slaves held their own Carnival celebrations, and thus evolved the burlesque character of the Dame Lorraine.Copying the ladies’ fine gowns with whatever materials they could find — assorted rags, makeshift fans and hats, shiny objects imitating jewels — the masqueraders mocked the pretensions of respectable society.  Over time, the Dame Lorraine mas became more elaborate. Heavily padded breasts and posterior reinforced the parody, and a large “pregnant” belly hinted at less than immaculate morals. Fine wire mesh masks, with eyes and mouth painted in, lent the masquerader the safety of anonymity. 

In Port of Spain’s backyards, the Dame Lorraine evolved into a theatrical event, enacted at midnight on Carnival Sunday for an eager audience. Imitating the stately scenes at the old plantation balls, a “butler” introduced arriving couples, who then performed exaggerated versions of formal dances, accompanied by small cuatro bands....Beneath the masks were cross-dressing men, many of whom happened to be the descendants of the very French planters they were mocking." 

Photos by Maria Nunes. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2023.