Wee Nehiinkem—All my Relatives was an invitation to look up and observe the movement of the sun to remember and to imagine. Working with the Tongva origin story of Taraaxashom or the Pleiades, Dorame created star maps of remembering, reconnection, and envisioning. In pointing to cosmic movement the artist asked the viewer to look up, to observe, find perspective, and reverence. Dorame also invited the viewer to look down, to know that the ground they stand on is Tongva land, and to reawaken this connection to our history to envision a more equitable future. This installation was on display during the Winter Solstice, a time when ceremony pulls back the sun back into the sky to create longer days. The artist used cast concrete star stones, ochre, cinnamon, salt, shells stones, paint, and red yarn, traditional and contemporary cultural materials to map this story. The plinth held a canvas with a star map of Taraaxashom (the Pleiades), six Tongva women who when they found out their partners were holding back food from the community, catapulted themselves into the sky to become the stars that created Taraaxashom (the Pleiades). The shade sails reflected a star map of Taurus, embodying the story of a man who brought home food for his partner and loved her so much he also sent himself up into the sky to be near her. In re-telling Tongva stories and claiming land, the artist hopes to reclaim space and understanding of the original caretakers of Los Angeles, the Tongva people, and to proclaim, we are here, we are vibrant, we are thriving and we will not be silent.
About the Artist:
Mercedes Dorame, born in Los Angeles, California, received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her undergraduate degree from UCLA. She calls on her Tongva ancestry to engage the problematics of visibility and ideas of cultural construction as an outcome of the need to tie one’s existence to the land. Dorame uses artwork to explore themes of political and social justice. In addition to working as an artist she also acts as a cultural resource consultant on sites where her Tongva ancestors and items are being excavated. This work carries a heavyweight of responsibility and has fueled her artistic exploration and passion for visibility for the tribe. Dorame recently revived a Creative Capital Award and was honored by UCLA as an outstanding alum of the last 100 years working in Equal Justice as part of the centennial initiative UCLA: Our Stories Our Impact. She was also part of the Hammer Museum’s biennial Made in LA 2018. Her work is part of the permanent collections of the Hammer Museum, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, The Triton Museum, The Allen Memorial Art Museum, The de Saisset Museum, The Montblanc Foundation Collection, and The Phoebe A. Hearst Museum. She has shown her work internationally. Her writing has been featured in News From Native California and 580 Split and her artwork has been highlighted by PBS Newshour, Artforum, KCET Artbound, the New York Times, Art in America, Hyperallergic, KQED, Artsy, ARTnews, the Los Angeles Times, the SF Chronicle, among others.
To learn more visit: https://www.mercedesdorame.com/
