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Monica Sorelle, Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I, 2022

Video Art 5m United States, Haiti

“Nou se wozo, nou pliye nou pa kase.” | “We are reeds, we bend but we don’t break.”

With proverb as its entry point, Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I features a Haitian woman in various bending positions - cooking, washing clothes, praying - symbolizing the parallels of physical labor to the durability of reeds. A clip from historian Professor Bayyinah Bello speaking on the role of women in The Haitian Revolution echoes throughout the two-channel video as she works. The women face each other, juxtaposing labor on the island with labor in Miami’s Haitian diaspora. However, in both scenes, her location is unknown and she moves without any sense of place. Where is she, and where is home?

Monica Sorelle is a Haitian-American filmmaker and artist born & based in Miami. Her work explores alienation and displacement, and preserves cultural traditions within Miami & the Caribbean with a focus on the African & Latin diasporas that reside there. Her photo and video work has been shown in group exhibitions at Oolite Arts and the University of Maryland, and supported by Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute Artist Fellowship, Locust Project’s Wavemaker Grant, and Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs. Monica’s feature film directorial debut, Mountains (2023), has been awarded at Tribeca Festival and BlackStar Film Festival, and selected at Toronto International Film Festival.

Support for Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I was provided by Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute.

Español

“Nou se wozo, nou pliye nou pa kase.” | “Somos cañas, nos doblamos pero no nos rompemos.”

Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I toma un proverbio como punto de partida y presenta a una mujer haitiana en diversas posiciones flexionadas: cocinando, lavando ropa, rezando; simbolizando los paralelos entre el trabajo físico y la durabilidad de las cañas. Un fragmento de la historiadora Profesora Bayyinah Bello hablando sobre el papel de las mujeres en la Revolución haitiana resuena a lo largo del video de dos canales mientras ella trabaja. Las mujeres se enfrentan, yuxtaponiendo el trabajo en la isla con el trabajo en la diáspora haitiana en Miami. Sin embargo, en ambas escenas, su ubicación es desconocida y se mueve sin ningún sentido de pertenencia. ¿Dónde está ella y dónde está su hogar?

Monica Sorelle es una artista y cineasta haitiana-estadounidense que nació y reside en Miami. Su obra explora la enajenación y el desplazamiento y preserva tradiciones culturales dentro de Miami y el Caribe, con un enfoque en la diáspora africana y latina que ahí habitan. Su obra en fotografía y video ha sido presentada en exposiciones colectivas en Oolite Arts y la University of Maryland, y ha recibido apoyos como la beca del Caribbean Cultural Institute (CCI, Insituto Cultural del Caribe) del Pérez Art Museum Miami, la beca Wavemaker del Locust Project y financiación del Departamento de Asuntos Culturales del condado de Miami-Dade. El primer largometraje de Monica, Mountains (2023), fue premiado en el Tribeca Festival y en el BlackStar Film Festival, y seleccionado en el Festival Internacional de Cine de Toronto.

Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I fue producido con el apoyo de la Beca de Artistas del Instituto Cultural del Caribe 2021 del Pérez Art Museum Miami.

Kreyòl

Avèk pwovèb kòm entrodiksyon, Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I prezante yon fanm ayisyen nan plizyè pozisyon koube - pandan l ap kwit manje, lave rad, priye - ki senbolize paralèl travay fizik ak rezistans yon wozo. Yon ti clip istoryen Pwofesè Bayyinah Bello k ap pale sou wòl fanm yo nan Revolisyon Ayisyen an fè eko nan tout videyo ki vinn de ekran an pandan fanm lan ap travay. Fanm yo youn fè fas ak lòt pou yo montre travay sou zile a ak travay nan dyaspora ayisyen Mayami. Sepandan, li yon kote ke nou pa rekonèt epi li pa kon kote pou l mete kò l . Kote li ye, e kote lakay li?

Biyografi Atis: Monica Sorelle se yon reyalizatè ak atis ayisyen-ameriken ki fèt e ki baze nan Miami. Travay li eksplore izolman ak deplasman, epi prezève tradisyon kiltirèl nan Miami ak Karayib la ak yon konsantre sou dyaspora Afriken ak Latino ki abite la. Travay foto ak videyo li yo te montre nan ekspozisyon an gwoup nan Oolite Arts ak Inivèsite Maryland, epi yo te sipòte pa Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute Artist Fellowship, Locust Project’s Wavemaker Grant, ak Depatman Afè Kiltirèl konte Miami-Dade la. Premye fim Monica reyalize, Mountains (2023), yo te resevwa prim nan Festival Fim Tribeca ak Festival fim BlackStar, epi li te chwazi nan festival fimEntènasyonal Toronto a.

Reeds/Wozo: Movement Study I reyalize ak sipò Pérez Art Museum Miami’s Caribbean Cultural Institute 2021 Artist Fellowship.

Cast

Albertte Petithomme (Performer) , Bayyinah Bello (Archival Voiceover)

Director of Photography

Juan Luis Matos

Language

English

Closed Captions [CC]

Kreyòl ayisyen, Español (Latinoamérica), English

Countries

United States, Haiti

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