‘Caguama No.2’ - Original 8x8 Painting

'Caguama No.2' This painting was created as part of my Island of Things Collection. With this collection, I’m carrying out research on my indigenous Taino roots. As I gather and reflect on family oral histories, symbols of the Taino, and written histories about the myth of their extinction, I’m more and more inspired to create these works.  Most paintings in this collection reference the spiral motif, which is a universal symbol but for the Taino represented the complete cycle of life, and one’s personal journey through life. In mapmaking at the most basic level, we chart the paths we take across land. In my work, I envision the spiral symbolizing inner journeys, collective ancestral memory, or spiritual migration, all maps of an abstract kind. This painting also references the turtle petroglyph, which represented the very origin of life, our connection to Mother Earth, fertility and motherhood. "Caguama" refers to the Taino word for a large sea turtle, and also represents the fertili