It's official: that which separates us can also bring us together. Consider those practitioners who were enrolled in the ninth iteration of the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative just as the pandemic struck.
The biennial multidisciplinary cultural exchange had launched its cycle in February 2020, leaving little time for its four mentors to embark on the intended yearlong collaboration with their respective protégés before the global shutdown brought a halt to proceedings.
Not so Carrie Mae Weems, the prominent visual artist chosen to mentor the young visual artist and filmmaker Camila Rodríguez Triana. Even though Weems was sequestered at her studio in Syracuse, NY, throughout the pandemic, and the Colombian-born Triana was similarly stranded in France, mentor enlisted protégée and set to work responding to the immediate effects on those most vulnerable.
'And that really helped us,' recalls Weems. 'Number one, because it grounded us. We needed to figure out what we were experiencing and what the impact was.
And not only on us but on the extended community around us as well. So that was an important first step, working together, working out language and text and image. And working out where to place that out in the world. It was wonderful to start on something that was really powerful and meaningful and touched us all.
This story is from the December 2022 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the December 2022 edition of Wallpaper.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
A Kind of Magic
Demna's breathtaking couture collection takes centre stage at Balenciaga's newly renovated couture salons in Paris
Building Site
Sun Tower, China, by Open Architecture
Circular Approach
Repurpose clothing initiative, by Oliver Spencer
CITY
Seoul's unique mix of culture, art and style goes global, thanks to an unstoppable new wave of dynamic creatives
RESTORATION KINGS
Laplace for Hauser & Wirth Paris
CARDBOARD CUTOUTS
'Box' furniture, by Max Lamb, for Gallery Fumi
URBAN BOLTHOLE
Pacaembu House, Brazil, by Arthur Casas
SURREALIST DREAMS
Weird and wonderful works to wake up to
CROWNING GLORY
15-step scalp treatment, by Eco Jardin by Park Jun
WEARABLE ART
Jewellery collection, by Lynda Benglis, for Loewe