Campbell, Temple (2024) To Taste a Portal: Contending with Cuban Colonial-era Histories through María Magdalena Campos-Pons’ Alchemy of the Soul, Elixir for the Spirits. Masters thesis, Concordia University.
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Abstract
This thesis examines María Magdalena Campos-Pons’ multisensory exhibition Alchemy of the Soul, Elixir for the Spirits (2015) as a means of resuscitating and preserving immaterial histories belonging to enslaved and indentured plantation labourers. The exhibition features immersive blown-glass installations, experimental soundscapes, an opportunity to taste freshly cut sugarcane and the faint yet persistent smell of rum wafting through the exhibition space. This thesis argues for the significance of the multisensory elements cultivating a space to contend with Cuban gastropoetics. I argue that access points to these immaterial archives are palpable and simultaneously protected through these multisensory elements. The multisensory details offer a possibility to experience the constellation of histories belonging to indentured and enslaved workers unified through Cuban sugarcane production. Alchemy of the Soul, Elixir for the Spirits does not scrutinize histories concerning plantation labourers—instead, Campos-Pons renders these histories opaque by privileging and questioning the role of the alimentary
tract and encourages the revitalization of cogent immaterial archives. Building from theoretical foundations laid by Jenny Sharpe, Édouard Glissant, Tao Leigh Goffe, Fernando Ortiz, Okwui Enwezor, and Parama Roy, this thesis advocates for the importance of Campos-Pons’ multisensory exhibition in the resuscitation and preservation of colonial-era histories degraded to immaterial status.
| Divisions: | Concordia University > Faculty of Fine Arts > Art History |
|---|---|
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
| Authors: | Campbell, Temple |
| Institution: | Concordia University |
| Degree Name: | M.A. |
| Program: | Art History |
| Date: | 1 August 2024 |
| Thesis Supervisor(s): | Jim, Alice Ming Wai |
| Keywords: | Gastropoetics, Installation Art, Sensory Studies, María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Sugarwork, immaterial archives, alchemy |
| ID Code: | 994615 |
| Deposited By: | Temple Marucci-Campbell |
| Deposited On: | 24 Oct 2024 15:30 |
| Last Modified: | 24 Oct 2024 15:30 |
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