800 Broad St
Newark, NJ 07102
Five large-scale, mixed media portraits of South Asian women and girls gaze unyielding at the viewer, representing the hundreds of thousands of women who traversed the ocean into servitude in the Caribbean during the 19th and 20th centuries. Maharaj draws from extensive historical research, photographic archives, and her own family history to give these women visibility; their portrayal, with gold and silver jewelry and an abundance of silk adornments, confers a sense of autonomic power. This multifaceted exhibition transcends mediums to command visibility and begin the process of ancestral healing for the unknown women depicted—and the countless others who shared their journey.