Wawi Navarroza @ Silverlens New York

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Wawi Navarroza @ Silverlens New York

January 10th, 2024 by fstop

Wawi Navarroza, Rosas Pandan (Volviendo, Self-Portrait), 135 x 101 cm, 2023

Wawi Navarroza: The Other Shore
January 11, 2024 to March 2, 2024

In Conversation: Wawi Navarroza with Christopher Y. Lew Saturday, January 20th 1pm

Born in Manila and moving between Manila, Madrid, and Istanbul, Navarroza is known for her large-format photographic tableaus and self-portraits. Her exhibition at Silverlens New York chronicles her work from 2019 to 2023, and invites new audiences into her expansive worldbuilding, where language is replaced by a vivid and opulent lexicon consisting of objects, place and cross-cultural exchange.

Examining the duality of worlds in the East and West, the individual and the collective, and personal identity and experience, Navarroza documents cycles of change, lineage, and transfiguration. Anchoring her exploration in folk memory, she delves into concepts of shame, superiority, and the provincial to unlearn and reclaim a legacy of Oriental art from various Asias, spanning Anatolia to the Pacific, and including Ottoman, Persian, and Indian art. Incorporated within her work are traces of the Philippines’ post-colonial past, a history inherently linked to Hispanic culture, and exhibited in the prevailing Catholic iconographies and use of ‘fiesta’ colors. Drawing inspiration from Chinese screens, Japanese ukiyo-e, Thai Buddhist murals, and thangka painting from Bhutan, she creates an opulence of symbolism, mystery, and meaning.

Silverlens New York
505 W 24th St, New York, NY

Location: New York, New York City Type: Exhibition

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