Overview
In this kinetic installation, multidisciplinary artist Yanira Collado fuses geometry and symbols from the African Diaspora to create joy and honor while also engaging with themes of spirituality and history. Drawing inspiration from the deity Ọya, who represents the winds in Yoruba spiritual beliefs, For those who transcend in the wind reflects on the connection to ancestral heritage.
In the work, the artist uses color as a reference to the Gullah people, descendants of enslaved Africans in the American South, and their tradition of painting porch ceilings haint blue – a blue-green color resembling water, to ward off spirits. She also uses the color in acknowledgement of the blue pinwheel that serves as a symbol for child abuse awareness. The pinwheels in the installation are adorned with complex geometric patterns that reference Shoowa embroidery, a traditional textile art form originating from the Kuba Kingdom in Central Africa. The pinwheels also pay homage to the symbols used in quilting patterns throughout the American South, historically considered visual codes for the Underground Railroad. The installation is transformative – blurring the past with the present, symbolizing movement across space through the history of subjugation to freedom.
