Rebecca Marimutu
Artist Bio
Rebecca Marimutu is a photographer and educator from New York City. Her artistic practice explores self, identity, and material tactility through photography, collage, paper sculpture, and audio-visual abstraction. Her work looks to divest from the traditional photography canon by emphasizing contemporary artists interrogating the medium’s history. She received her MFA in 2020 from the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) in Photographic and Electronic Media, with a concentration in Critical Studies. She's the founder and director of Anchovy Press, an independent publishing company dedicated to storytelling that centers BIPOC experiences.
Her work has been shown at Spring/Break Art Fair in New York, Waller Gallery, Catalyst Contemporary, Black Artists Research Space, and Eubie Blake Cultural Center in Baltimore, MD. She is currently an adjunct photography professor at Parsons School of Design, Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) and Towson University.
Artist Statement, Portrait(s) 2020 - ongoing
With my ongoing self-examination series, Portrait(s), I treat the photographic image of myself as a landscape for abstraction and deconstruction. I investigate the practice of portraiture while subverting the white gaze by concealing, obscuring, and protecting the image of myself that lies within the frame.
With my use of gridded structured collage in Portrait(s) Adhered 2021 and the incorporation of gestural materials with paint, oil pastel, and other materials in Portrait(s), Contact 2022, I subvert the ideology of the precious archival image and directly impart my hand in a physical sense onto the pictorial plane. In the current iteration, Portrait(s), Coated 2023, I build on my practice and bring the work into sculptural and dimensional space. This work incorporates photographic paper mache sculptures and coated photographic images in encaustic wax and resin, bringing the portrait into the third dimension.
My artistic practice is routed in concepts surrounding art as "the Other." In a society that juxtaposes and pushes ideas of morality, intelligence, and the like onto racial divides it has manufactured, the contemporary and historical image-viewing experience is not without its predetermined narrative manufactured to adhere in part to white supremacist ideology. Black womanists, such as bell hooks, spoke of this and art as “the Other” in Black Look, Race, and Representation. I refer to this as a foundational framework for my artistic research.
"When race and ethnicity become commodified as resources for pleasure, the culture of specific groups and the bodies of individuals can be seen as constituting an alternative playground where members of dominating races, genders, and sexual practices affirm their power over intimate relations with the Other." (bell hooks, Black Look, 23)
In this context, pleasure, to me, refers to artistic visual pleasure. As the dissemination of the image of Black womanhood is consumed more than ever, I question how I can have authorship over my image. Portrait(s) attempts to answer this question by exploring abstraction, obstruction, and concealment. I use these actions to protest, directly addressing how I am often allowed to see myself in art spaces. With my self-portraiture and my exploration of the photograph's objecthood, I look to confront the public image of me, the image of us, and revisit the ideas around Black representation in contemporary art.
Portrait(s) Divine Mother 2024
"Portrait(s), Divine Mother," featuring 16 photographic self-portraits pays homage to my matriarchal lineage, Caribbean Shaktism, and the profound familial narrative intertwining them. Scheduled for a solo exhibition at BlackRock Center for the Arts this project explores the scarce stories from my mother's childhood, including healing a limp arm through a gold arm offering at a temple in Guyana. Through this endeavor, I aim to honor the spiritual heritage of my family while unraveling the personal significance of our family history. Our ancestral worship derives from Shaktism, a spiritual tradition venerating the divine feminine through goddesses like Mariamman and Kali. Raised in a female-dominated household, I am driven to dig into this practice, celebrating the Divine Mother and its profound influence within our familial and spiritual realms.
"Portrait(s), Divine Mother" utilizes a process of capturing, printing, and scanning self-portraits to engage in a dialogue centered on preservation and storytelling. I pay homage to the vibrant goddesses revered in Shaktism by emphasizing yellow hues, replacing my studio's printer’s black ink with yellow. Finally, I print the scanned images on metal and fabric, further imbuing the artwork with a profound sense of ancestral resonance while transforming the photograph into a three-dimensional object with weight and substance. I aim to evoke a profound connection to my cultural roots and ancestral lineage, celebrating the enduring legacy of Caribbean Shaktism and the divine feminine within my identity.
Portrait(s) Coated (2023)
In 2023, I took a distinct turn back towards experimentation and one-of-a-kind peices. In the spirit of creative play, I prioritized the joy that art-making and the exploration of materials can bring.
With a deep fascination for the materiality of paper and its inherent duality as both a two-dimensional and three-dimensional medium, I embarked on a creative exploration that resulted in the birth of unique sculptures and photographic collages. These artworks are not only a celebration of paper but also incorporate unconventional elements such as cement, resin, and studio debris.
Central to my practice is the belief in self-sufficiency, where every aspect of the creative process unfolds within the confines of my studio. This commitment to a self-sustained practice allows for a connection between myself and the materials I work with, fostering a sense of ownership over each creation.
Throughout the year, I remained rooted in the ongoing exploration of self-portraiture, endeavoring to push the boundaries of my artistic expression. These one-of-a-kind pieces reflect a desire to embrace both the expansiveness of my vision and the authenticity of physical form.
Photographic Collages, Enamel Paint & Cement/ Plaster/ Resin on Wood Board
Sculptures
Photographic Collages, Enamel Paint/ Fabirc/ Resin on Wood Board
Archival Pigment Prints
Monoprints on Mixed Media Paper
Photographic collages, Hand Dyed Gauze with Enamel Paint and Acrylic Paint on Stretched Canvas
Portraits, Contact (2022)
In "Portrait(s), Contact 2022," I introduce a dynamic integration of gestural materials, such as paint and oil pastels. Through this unique approach, I redeine the conventional sanctity associated with archival imagery, boldly leaving my physical mark upon the pictorial plane. During the creation of my works in 2022, my artistic journey predominantly unfolded within the confines of the studio. I only occasionally ventured outside to print archival versions of my studio actions. These archival prints serve as a response to the inherent impermanence of my 2021 works, ensuring their enduring legacy. The intricate process involves printing, enhancing through painting, cutting, or dissolving the photograph, and finally scanning to create a meticulously preserved archive. The result is an archival print that outlasts the original, challenging preconceptions regarding authenticity and value.
Throughout this series, I pose questions that dissect the essence of the original, explore the true nature of a photograph, and unravel the intersections where illusion and authenticity entwine. I closely examine how scanned artworks manipulate our perceptions of the real and the artificial. As a Black woman navigating diverse spaces, I contemplate the moment when my artistic work is recognized as authentic, original, and invaluable. This ongoing exploration remains at the heart of my artistic practice, inviting viewers to join me on a journey of introspection and discovery.
Portrait(s), Adhered (2021)
In early 2021, I embarked on my artistic journey with the inception of the "Portraits, Adhered" series. This project defies conventional photographic methods by embracing nontraditional techniques that involve digital capture and the direct affixation of self-portraits onto wooden boards using a medley of materials such as wheat-paste, PVA glue, clear acrylic gesso, and staples. Through this unconventional approach, I set out to challenge the prevailing material hierarchies entrenched in contemporary image and media consumption.
The backdrop of self-isolation that permeated this period compelled me to channel my introspection into the ongoing creation of this series. Within "Portraits, Adhered," I transform the image of myself into a dynamic landscape ripe for abstraction and deconstruction. By reimagining my self-portraits in this manner, I strive to provoke contemplation about the multifaceted nature of personal and societal identity.
This artistic exploration has led me to uncover the sculptural dimensions hidden within the realm of photography. By melding the two-dimensional and three-dimensional aspects of the medium, I have transcended traditional boundaries and breathed life into images that transcend mere representation. Through experimentation, innovation, and a deep desire for self-examination, "Portraits, Adhered" has become a testament to my unwavering commitment to disrupting norms and pushing the boundaries of artistic expression.
Portrait(s) - Kraft Paper
Photography provides the viewer space to look on-to another experience through the safety of their own -- standing outside the frame, and other those who are within. Marimutu works to subvert and orient this space of contemplation that photography provides, by blocking the gaze of the viewer onto the viewed. Her work conceals and protects that which lies under the paper, only showing the borders and edges of what was -- in the process, guiding the viewer to question their role in this obfuscation.
Portrait(s), an exploration of exploitation and repair, consists of large photosensitive Kraft Paper sculptures that are intentionally composed to absorb the surrounding environment onto themselves as they weaken and decay. By creating and repairing these portraits through accessible, durable, and charged materials, Marimutu works to address and remove the material and political hierarchy of picture-making, and imposes her own.
Untitled is an early response to the pandemic. Working through old work, Corners (2016) and new work Exploitation and Repair (2020), Marimutu was continuing her exploration about the spaces she inhabited — institutional and educational spaces from her archive — along with the current discussion about her place within them.
New Spaces (2020) is composed of works in progress that explores the intersection of space and expansion, the distortion of the lens, and the manipulation of the digital and racial landscape that we are a part of. Through these, Marimutu works on repairing and attaching these spaces and imagining them together.
In the Home (2020) addresses how the current pandemic has centered around discussions about the work of being anti racist in domestic and family-focused spaces. Discussions about race have become more internal, as our social access to people continues to shrink. The past year has been a time for introspection on how to personally confront white supremacy, as well as an extended moment to educate ourselves about how we got here. As an artist who has long been working on the tokenization of BIPOC in arts institutions, Marimutu also hopes to extend that critique to the space of our home.
Portrait (s), an Exploitation and Repair (2020)
Photography provides the viewer space to look on-to another experience through the safety of their own -- standing outside the frame, and other those who are within. Marimutu works to subvert and orient this space of contemplation that photography provides, by blocking the gaze of the viewer onto the viewed. Her work conceals and protects that which lies under the paper, only showing the borders and edges of what was -- in the process, guiding the viewer to question their role in this obfuscation.Portrait(s), an exploration of exploitation and repair, consists of large photosensitive Kraft Paper sculptures that are intentionally composed to absorb the surrounding environment onto themselves as they weaken and decay.
By creating and repairing these portraits through accessible, durable, and charged materials, Marimutu works to address and remove the material and political hierarchy of picture-making, and imposes her own.
New Spaces (2020) is composed of works in progress that explores the intersection of space and expansion, the distortion of the lens, and the manipulation of the digital and racial landscape that we are a part of.
Through these, Marimutu works on repairing and attaching these spaces and imagining them together. In the Home (2020) addresses how the current pandemic has centered around discussions about the work of being anti racist in domestic and family-focused spaces. Discussions about race have become more internal, as our social access to people continues to shrink. The past year has been a time for introspection on how to personally confront white supremacy, as well as an extended moment to educate ourselves about how we got here. As an artist who has long been working on the tokenization of BIPOC in arts institutions, Marimutu also hopes to extend that critique to the space of our home.
Work From Home 2020
2. September
3. October, 2020
4. November, 2020
Permanent, Ephemeral, (2019)
Plastic Hands (2019)
Scans of reapproprated Plastic Material & my hand
Packed Bags, 2019
Projection 2018
Sheet Plastic, (2019)
Baltimore, (2018)
Selected Portraits, 2016
India (2016)
Maryland (2016)
New Paltz & (2016)
New York City (2016)
Albany (2015)
West Village (2015)
Tissue (2015)
Corners (2015)
