Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.

On April 25, Remai Modern presents a new exhibition that gives primacy to the voices of eight artists who think deeply about the Caribbean and have familial and lived ties to the region. Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean features work by Carolina Caycedo, Andrea Chung, Giana De Dier, Braxton Garneau, Deborah Jack, Las Nietas de Nonó, Hew Locke, and Kara Springer.

While the Caribbean is frequently referenced as though it were a single region, it is, in fact, a complex and varied place defined by intersections of histories and cultures that exist across an intricately delineated geography. The region encompasses over 700 islands, as well as portions of mainland countries such as Colombia, Venezuela, Belize, Nicaragua, and Guyana, sharing Indigenous histories, colonialism, African diaspora, and ongoing struggles for sovereignty and environmental justice. 

Many people know the region only through tourism, a lens that can provide an understanding that is little more than superficial. Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt. aims to create a space of reflection and elucidation by showcasing works that speak to an intimate engagement with the land, sharing a way of knowing it through physical experience and embodied knowledge. 

Caribbean communities resist, adapt, and create—sustaining powerful traditions of solidarity, cultural expression, and environmental care in the wake of the pressures of colonial legacies, social and economic inequity, and environmental incursions and climate change.

Land. Sea. Sugar. Salt.: Terrestrial and Aquatic Contemplations of the Caribbean is curated by Sally Frater, Senior Curator/Curatorial Manager, and Michelle Jacques, Head of Exhibitions & Collections/Chief Curator. It runs until August 17 in Remai Modern’s Feature Gallery.