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Tamara Zeta Sanowar-Makhan
A Member of the Family, 2000
Family Photo and Children's Toy Handgun covered in a Crocheted Hair Gun Cozy inside a Eucharist Chalice Box
7" x 9" x 12.75"
A Member of the Family and unLOVED STORY are a commentary on a child's desire to kill one's abuser, and reference the danger imposed on children that accompanies the domestication of the gun as a family object. These issues are reflected in the work through what was my personal childhood perspective on the relationship between violence, guns and power.
UnLOVED STORY was created in response to two special reports in Ms. and Emerge magazines, which chronicled the desperate situation for women in prison in the US. The reports brought to attention problems with the judicial and correctional systems, especially around the issues of mandatory drug testing. unLOVED STORY is accompanied by resource materials and a quote from the activist Angela Davis: "To stand up for the rights of women in prison is to challenge racism and poverty and to resist becoming an incarcerated society...the 'crime problem' can only be addressed ultimately by the eradication of poverty, by the eradication of circumstances that lead people to commit the kind of crimes for which most are sent to prison." (1998)
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Tamara Zeta Sanowar-Makhan is a Canadian-born artist of Trinidadian heritage and diverse (Indian, African, Aboriginal, and European) ancestry. Since early childhood she has been strongly exposed to the arts through the creative influences of her artistic mother and maternal grandparents. The artist, a graduate of the University of Toronto, has completed studies in the areas of literature, science and fine arts. She has been actively involved in the Toronto arts community for the past ten years as an exhibiting artist, exhibition coordinator and art teacher. Her work, which has received national and international attention, primarily addresses issues of injustice such as racism, sexism and domestic violence. |
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