Quaternary

“The term Quaternary reflects the most recent periodical shift in the earth’s physical landscape. Quaternary: Four Barbadian Female Artists, draws on this meaning and highlights the works of four women artists as having the ability to represent real creative experiences, while shifting the typically accepted realm of visual imagery in the island of Barbados.” —Natalie McGuire, Curator

As part of this landmark group exhibition, my contributions to Quaternary continued my exploration of Black feminist portraiture through mixed media collage. The works reimagine the figure as a layered site of transformation, where the emotional, historical, and ancestral intersect. Pieces like Lena and Simone incorporate found imagery to blur the line between personal memory and shared cultural narrative, placing Black womanhood within a broader visual archive.

Using materials like acrylic, ink, and mylar, these collages resist flattening, offering instead fragmented and textured renderings of the body that gesture toward interiority and multiplicity. Rather than literal representations, each portrait opens up emotional space—both for the subject and the viewer.

The exhibition was held in July 2016 at the Lime Grove Gallery in Holetown, Barbados.