by Josée Thissen-Rojer

‘E Wega di Bida – The Game of Life’, is the title of the new solo exhibition by visual artist, Suzet Rosaria (Curaçao, 1965), in Landhuis Bloemhof.

Prior to the exhibition, a short film is shared on social media as an announcement. It shows Suzet painting outdoors to the penetrating sounds of the Muzik di zumbi. The recording is made by her two daughters and immediately shows how she leads her life: self-aware, independent, and deeply rooted in her native soil.

The title ‘E Wega di Bida’ (The game of life) literally recurs time and again in the artworks, in the black-and-white checkered areas, and is a reference to the centuries-old board game, chess. “Just as every move in the board game helps you get a step ahead or rather sets you back, every experience in life is a learning moment and part of your growth process”, explains Suzet.

Suzet grew up in Curaçao and after completing secondary school, she continues her studies in the Netherlands. After finishing the Art Academy, she starts working in education. The desire to return to Curaçao and to her family doesn’t let up and after applying several times, she finally lands a job. In 2001 she returns to Curaçao with her husband and daughters. Meanwhile, Suzet’s been connected to MIL for 17 years, as an instructor of Cultural and Artistic Education (CAV, Culturele en Artistieke Vorming).

Besides teaching she has a home studio, so she can also work as a freelance artist. Over the course of 20 years, she holds a few solo exhibitions and frequently participates in group exhibitions and art-related events. In May of 2021, for instance, she’s one of the visual artists to paint a mural in the neighborhood of Suffisant upon invitation of the Ministry of OWCS, inspired by the history of the neighborhood’s residents. Suzet chooses to emphasize the role and womanhood of the Afro-Caribbean woman here.

Suzet displays characteristics of the Afro-Caribbean identity in her murals like the headscarf and the hairstyle, while also using these as symbols of wisdom and intelligence. Additionally, she uses Ghanese characters for strength, courage, and independence. She consciously paints young women with an uninhibited and bold look in their eyes, especially aimed at encouraging young women to embrace their ethnicity and point out to them that the world lies at their feet. 

She started working on the current exhibition a year ago. The entrance hall at Landhuis Bloemhof is equipped as her studio and besides her easel and other painting supplies, there’s also a carnival costume and a well-known shopping bag. Thus, immediately making it crystal clear that she’s an artist who wears many hats.

The opening took place on September 11^th, 2021. It’s the same day on which Suzet arrived on Curaçao 20 years ago to build a new life here. Her best friend, Irela Panneflek, does the inauguration and her words clearly reflect the strength of their bond and the admiration she cherishes for Suzet’s unrelenting creativity. She explains what’s so special about the new exhibition: Suzet has forged a new path. She no longer allows herself to be led by the game, but now determines the rules herself. And indeed, even more than before, the colors, patterns, and personalities jump off the canvas and the works vie for the attention of the visitor.

It looks as though the artist took stock of the past 10 years, the time between her last solo exhibition and this exhibition. Each painting exemplifies an important decision or event in this period. She looks back fearlessly on everything that has happened in her professional and personal life. She sees the moments, choices, and decisions during which she was led by the game, but also when she carefully takes back the reigns up to the moment she realizes she’s once again fully in control of her life. 

The result is a colorful exhibition of works through which she explores the boundaries of her personal forms, themes, and materials. The black-and-white checkered pattern of the board game is present practically everywhere, as is an upright ladder, as a symbol of growth. The first work at the entrance is a mixed media with a woven mat with the black-and-white checkered pattern to the left, and an upright ladder with slanted rungs to the right. The entire piece has a pale-yellow background and is entitled ‘Broken’. It appears very simple and is a work that immediately sets the tone for an exhibition that, through its abundance in color, has a positive and playful mood, notwithstanding the serious undertone.

’Broken’ indicates that precisely at those times when you’re emotionally broken, personal growth takes place. “The ladder represents this growth. The woven mat shows that past and present are interconnected, together forming a unity. The red thread coming through the woven mat is the strength to keep going and hold everything together”, Suzet explains.

Suzet gives the characters in her paintings striking hairstyles and headdresses, for instance in a circular shape or in the shape of a bowl or ‘sickle’, and every now and then she even goes beyond the framework of the canvas. In this way, she gives form to all the thoughts circling around in her head. Sometimes the figure has a black-and-white checkered pattern and in that case, the figure is still part of the game. As with the paintings ‘Me, myself, and I’ and ‘My shadow’. In another work, a woman looks at the checkered pattern from a distance, as in the case of ‘Mystery’. She carefully peeps around the corner to the game and no longer allows herself to be swept away by it.

The exhibition also includes two series of small, square, ink drawings, colored with watercolor. They are intimate images of the female nude accompanied by different symbols, with the bird, as a symbol of freedom, being the most prominent. “Through these watercolors I expose myself’, says Suzet, because it’s the first time she shows that she also paints nudes. To her, this is a very important step to make. Up till now, she was more concerned with pleasing her audience. She now chooses for herself, her own story, and makes no concessions in the way she chooses to tell that story. This puts her in a vulnerable position, but the response she gets is enormous. The public recognizes themselves in her work and her story: “But this is me!” she hears repeatedly. 

Some works are very abstract and the triptych ‘Orguyo’ is one of them. The shape of the face, neck, and shoulders can be distinguished, but it is mainly the sickle-shaped headdress that stretches across the side panels, that draws attention. The work is a play of form, patterns, material, and color. The checkered pattern is no longer present here and the figure has no facial expressions. But it is indeed a lavish and bold painting, through which Suzet clearly shows how she now leads her life: “Life is exceptional, so live it!”

The exhibition can be visited until October 23^rd, 2021, in the gallery of Landhuis Bloemhof.

This post was made possible by the financial support of Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied.
The article was previously published in Amigoe (Friday, 24 September 2021). Photos by Ken Wong are indicated. This text may only be reproduced with reference to the source and author. Curaçao Art®️ www.curacao-art.com. Copyright of the artworks remains the property of the artist.