Fianarantsoa

Fianarantsoa, 12”x9” painted paper collage on paper.

My latest 3d collage is called Fianarantsoa, which is named for a city in #Madagascar. I used remaining scraps of painted watercolor paper from my newest Proginoskes collage to create this one, which, as usual, was a joyous process. The title Fianarantsoa popped into my head spontaneously but I learned about the city years ago when I did a research project in junior high on Madagascar. Fianarantsoa means “good education” in Malagasy and the city is considered the cultural and intellectual hub of the island. I also loved saying the name of the city out loud for the way it would roll off my tongue.

I chose to study Madagascar back then because, according to one of our family genealogists, it was my great-great-great grandmother’s birthplace. She was enslaved and brought to Kentucky and to this day, I still do not know her name but I often think about her.

My collage, Fianarantsoa will be on view during my art residency at @artontheblocknyc from April 18-May 16th.