Photo by Argenis Apolinario.
Interactive wall where audience is invited to respond to the prompt "What is your first memory of love?" Audience is also invited to interact with the soft-sculpture.
About: LovingSUITS is a developing project which encompasses soft weighted sculptures and multimedia documentation of Dominican feminized folks narratives around family dynamics, love and self-love. The original weighted sculptures were made while being a Van Lier Fellow with Smack Mellon. The soft weighted sculptures are filled with plastic beads and plush, and anointed with lavender, rosemary and frankincense. The design of each sculpture takes into account pressure points in the upper body to soothe tension and provide comfort. The result of these interviews are recorded narratives that capture multigenerational experiences of Dominicans from diverse households and with different migration stories.
Weighted soft sculpture that simulates an embrace.
Escultura que simula un abrazo.
LovingSUITS is a developing project which encompasses soft weighted sculptures and multimedia documentation of Dominican feminized folks narratives around family dynamics, love and self-love. The soft weighted sculptures are filled with plastic beads and plush, and anointed with lavender, rosemary and frankincense. The design of each sculpture takes into account pressure points in the upper body to soothe tension and provide comfort. LovingSUITS also expand to visual representations that reflect on concepts of love and liberation through a decolonial lens.
After COVID-19 hit NYC, LovingSUITS also exists in the digital realm, allowing diverse feminized folks to participate and try to create self-soothing soft sculptures at home. LovingSUITS is also holding space around decoloniality and anti-Blackness in Dominican communities.
ESPAÑOL
LovingSUITS (AmarSER) es un proyecto en desarrollo que abarca esculturas suaves y documentación multimedia de narrativas por personas feminizadas dominicanas en torno a dinámicas familiare, el amor y el amor propio. Las esculturas de peso suave están llenas de cuentas de plástico y felpa, y untadas con lavanda, romero e incienso. El diseño de cada escultura tiene en cuenta los puntos de presión en la parte superior del cuerpo para aliviar la tensión y brindar comodidad. AmarSER también se expande a representaciones visuales que reflejan conceptos de amor y liberación a través de una lente decolonial.
Después de que COVID-19 llegó a Nueva York, AmarSER también existe en el ámbito digital, lo que permite que diversas personas feminizadas participen y traten de crear esculturas suaves y relajantes en casa. AmarSER también crea espacio de reflexion en torno a la decolonialidad y la antinegritud en las comunidades dominicanas.