Ada Maricia Patterson, Lookalook, 2018
Ada Maricia Patterson (b. 1994, Bridgetown, Barbados; lives between Bridgetown, Barbados, London and Amsterdam)
Lookalook by Ada Maricia Patterson is a performance and video work staged in the streets of Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados. At its center, the artist wears a mask made of sea urchin shells, or “tests.” The sea urchin—visually striking yet dangerous to touch—is a recurrent motif in Patterson’s oeuvre. As she moves through the city, her presence unsettles familiar spaces, embodying the tension between allure and threat, presence and misrecognition.
Drawing on Caribbean masquerade traditions and folkloric figures, Patterson explores the politics of being seen through colonial, racialized, touristic, and gendered gazes. The fragile yet defensive mask becomes an emblem of how beauty and danger coexist in visibility. In this way, Lookalook resonates with the ongoing struggles of queer and trans communities to assert presence and safety in a world that often scrutinizes or erases them, while it invites audiences to reconsider how difference, identity, and gender are performed and perceived.
Español
Ada Maricia Patterson (n. 1994, Bridgetown, Barbados; vive entre Bridgetown, Barbados, Londres y Ámsterdam)
Lookalook de Ada Maricia Patterson, es una obra de performance y video escenificada en las calles de Bridgetown, la capital de Barbados. El eje central es una máscara que la artista lleva puesta, creada con conchas de erizo de mar. El erizo—muy llamativo a la vista, pero peligroso al tacto—es un motivo recurrente en la obra de Patterson. Mientras camina por la ciudad, su presencia perturba los espacios familiares, haciendo corpórea la tirantez entre la atracción y la amenaza, la presencia y el reconocimiento erróneo.
Inspirándose en las tradiciones de las mascaradas y las figuras folclóricas caribeñas, Patterson explora las políticas que rigen la percepción a través de la mirada colonial, racista, turística y con enfoque de género. La máscara frágil, aunque de defensa, se convierte en emblema de la coexistencia de la belleza y el peligro en la visibilidad. De esta forma, Lookalook hace eco de la lucha interminable de las comunidades queer y transgénero por reivindicar su presencia y su seguridad en un mundo que con frecuencia las juzga o las suprime, a la vez que invita al público a reconsiderar los modos como se percibe y representa la diferencia, la identidad y el género.
Kreyòl ayisyen
Ada Maricia Patterson (fèt an 1994, nan Bridgetown, Barbados; l ap viv ant Bridgetown, Barbados, London ak Amsterdam)
Lookalook pa Ada Maricia Patterson se yon pèfòmans ak yon travay videyo ki fèt nan lari Bridgetown, kapital Barbados. Nan kè travay la, atis la pote yon mask ki fèt ak koki bèt pikan lanmè, yo rele “tests.” Bèt pikan lanmè a—ki bèl pou gade men danjere pou manyen—se yon motif ki parèt souvan nan travay Patterson. Andan l ap deplase atravè vil la an pwosesyon, figi a boulvèse espas familye yo, li fè tansyon ki egziste ant sediksyon ak menas, prezans ak move entèpretasyon vinn vizib.
Enspire pa tradisyon maskarad Karayibeyen yo ak senbòl popilè nan foklò rejyon an, Ada Maricia Patterson eksplore politik fason moun jije lòt moun atravè je kolonyal, rasyal, touristik, ak sèks. Mask bèt pikan lanmè an, ki frajil epi defansif, vinn tounen yon senbòl jan bote ak danje ka egziste ansanm lè yon moun vin vizib. Nan sans sa a, Lookalook fè eko ak lit kontinyèl kominote queer ak trans yo pou afime prezans yo ak sekirite yo nan yon mond ki souvan egzamine yo twòp oswa efase yo. Travay la envite piblik la, pou li repanse fason diferans, idantite ak sèks pran fòm epi jwenn sans nan je lòt moun.
ADA MARICIA PATTERSON, Lookalook, 2018. Performance on high definition black and white video, with sound, 7 min., 12 sec. © Ada Maricia Patterson. Courtesy of the artist and Copperfield London. Created with the support of a residency with Punch Creative Arena, Barbados.
Artist
Filmed by
Literary Credit: "The eye of another was a kind of cage. When it saw you the lid came down, and you were trapped."
Subtitles
English, Kreyòl ayisyen, Español (Latinoamérica)
Closed Captions [CC]
English, Kreyòl ayisyen, Español (Latinoamérica)
Country
Barbados