When I Am Not Here / Estoy Allá
When I Am Not Here / Estoy Allá
Artist
María Magdalena Campos-Pons
(born 1959)
Date1997
MediumDye diffusion transfer print (Polaroid Polacolor Pro), triptych
Dimensionseach print: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)
each framed: 28 3/4 × 24 3/4 × 1 1/2 in.
each framed: 28 3/4 × 24 3/4 × 1 1/2 in.
ClassificationsPhotograph
Credit LineCrystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 2021.7
Accession number
2021.7
On View
Not on viewCollections
Label TextIn this work, the artist cradles six hand-carved, wooden boats amid a sea of blue. The white-and-blue patterns on her dress extend beyond the central image and into the abstracted designs found in the other photographs.
Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons’s practice is autobiographical. Informed by her Afro-Caribbean heritage and experience as a US citizen, When I am Not Here/ Estoy Alla considers the sea as a site for identity and memory formation. Simultaneously, the artist reflects on her relationship to displacement, having her heart and home in both Matanzas, Cuba, and the US.
El artista mece seis barcos de madera tallados a mano en medio de un mar azul. Los motivos en blanco y azul de su vestido se extienden más allá de la imagen central y se encuentran en los diseños abstractos que aparecen en las demás fotografías.
La práctica de Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons es autobiográfica. Documentándose en su herencia afrocaribeña y en su experiencia como ciudadana estadounidense, When I am Not Here/ Estoy Alla considera el mar como un lugar para la formación de la identidad y la memoria. Al mismo tiempo, la artista reflexiona acerca de su relación con el desplazamiento, tener su corazón y su hogar tanto en Matanzas, Cuba, como en los Estados Unidos.
Markingsverso of each print: [Gallery Wendi Norris label]
verso of each print, label: Please note: In the event this work is deframed/refit for any reason, the frame is designed for minimal pressure on photograph edges. When refitting, add 4 ply shims between the strainer and backer: remove shims after engaging screws.
verso of middle print. l.r.: [Smith Andersen North plexi glass label]
