Yet another feature on the artists and works in our upcoming Digital exhibition (April 24-July 4, 2016):
Bio
Ruben Cabenda was born in Suriname in 1989. He attended the Nola Hatterman Art Academy Suriname (2005-2010) and the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, the Netherlands (2010-2014). He has participated in the Gerrit Rietveld Academie’s Storage Space Exhibitions, editions 5, 6, and 7, which were held in 2012. He also participated in the Academie’s Beyond Babylon exhibition (2013). He lives and works in Suriname.
About the Work
“My animations are combinations of different ideas, sculptures, drawings or paintings. I draw, paint or make a sculpture about the subject that has my interest. In Photoshop I combine different parts of a drawing, painting or a sculpture, which can lead to new ideas. This is where for me the process of animating starts.”
“At the Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam I got to know people from other countries and because of this I became more interested in where I come from and who I am. I began to investigate the relationship between two religions (Winti and Christianty), because my ancestors descended from Africa and Winti originates from Africa and Christianty was imposed on the slaves (during slavery) by the Europeans. That is why I am taking a closer look at the topic of slavery. Subjects that also have my interest are racism and white privilege. And also how ethnic groups especially in Suriname classify and stereotype each other.”
“My animation I Am, I Was portrays slavery as a big construction, a factory, a machine which steals the identity of the person at the end. And takes or feeds on the strength of the figure (at the beginning of the animation) in the sky.”
National Gallery of Jamaica 