Mercer County Community College’s James Kerney Campus will highlight the work of Trenton’s Tamara Torres in the upcoming exhibit La Feminista. Soy You? on display from February 28th through April 9th.
JKC Gallery Director Michael Chovan-Dalton describes the exhibit in the following manner: “Tamara Torres’ project, “La Feminista. Soy You?” explores what feminism is for different cultures and generations of women. It is an attempt to bridge the different experiences and identities within the feminist movement through dialogue and by posing the most direct question, “What does feminism mean to you?” In our current climate filled with great politicized anger and debate over the harassment and abuse of women, and equity for women in the workplace, Torres examines a foundational element of the current social, economic, and political struggle that can be a source of both strength and division among those seeking to be heard.”
Artist Tamara Torres described her exhibit in the following way: “My new project “La Feminista. Soy Yo?” (“The Feminist. Am I?”) is a photography and video installation featuring women of different generations amplifying on the word feminism. I am collaborating with grandmothers, mothers, and daughters, from different cultures, locally and around the world, taking their individual portraits and a video of them as I pose the question: What does feminism mean to you? Through this project, I am seeking to document how feminism is regarded by women of different generations and cultures. Personally the word feminism didn’t mean much to me as a young Latina. I didn’t fully learn about the word and its meaning until my 20s, and I still questioned whether “feminism” was meant for me or only for those women who were already privileged in this world.
My photography, paintings, collage and performance art all offer elucidations of broader cultural movements intertwined with my own personal stories. My art grapples with racism, women’s rights, and injustice in this era. Whether it’s my own personal story of perseverance after being born “a statistic,” as one teacher told me, doomed by the circumstances of my birth, or telling the stories of those who have faced adversity and discrimination because of their background or culture, my art faces the truth of our common humanity. It is my mission that if my art can change the outlook of one person’s mind, that is the first step towards changing a generation.
Tamara Torres is a Trenton, NJ native. In her youth she survived abuse, discrimination, homelessness, and in her art she has taken up the cause of abuse disadvantaged and disenfranchised women around the globe. At age 12 a friend gave her a camera and she has been taking photos and using them to in her art ever since. Torre’s photo-based collage art has been shown in New York, Chicago, London, and Rome. Torres is a Puerto Rican and her art has recently sought to counter misconceptions of Latino citizens and immigrants. She has recently begun creating and exhibiting abstract paintings.”
There will be a reception on Wednesday March 6 – 5:00-7:00pm and
Artist Talk at 6pm.
For more information about the artist visit her website at https://www.tamaratorresart.com/.
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The JKC Gallery is located at Trenton Hall on 137 N. Broad Street. Exhibit hours are Mon. 11:30 – 02:30pm Tue. 10:00 – 02:30pm and Thur. 10:30 – 7:30pm. For more information visit http://www.mccc.edu/community_gallery_jkc.shtml.
The feature photo was taken by Tamara Torres photography.
