Jordany Genao | Espíritu de sabor

Jordany Genao’s interdisciplinary practice is deeply rooted in the precolonial  history of the islands of Boriken (Puerto Rico), Ayiti (Dominican Republic and Haiti), and Kubanakan (Cuba). Their work is a unique exploration of the visual and theoretical connections between Indigenous Arawak-Taino cosmology, Caribbean botanical practices and queerness. Genao’s art is a profound tribute to nature and her wisdom, with a heavy emphasis on the relationships between land, history and culture. For the Arawak-Taino, the cemi (or zemi) deities and spirits represented natural elements. In the Sunporch exhibition Espíritu de sabor (Spirit of taste), Genao integrates clay, natural fibers, beads, leaves, shells, rock and other natural by-products to create two-dimensional and sculptural works that build on Taino belief systems. These works are not just symbols of the past, but vessels of a living continuum. Their materials serve as both an affirmation, and veneration of the ways the natural world intertwines with Arawak-Taino spirituality, ceremony and political power, inseparable from the universe. 

Organized by Curator of Visual Arts Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, the Sunroom Project Space provides an opportunity for emerging artists in the New York City area to develop and present a site-specific project as a solo exhibition. The 2024 applications were reviewed by a panel of arts professionals including Kiara Cristina Ventura, writer, curator and founder of the roving curatorial platform Processa; Jacq Groves, 2023 Sunroom Project Space interdisciplinary artist and educator; and Gugelberger.