Charo Oquet

Part of a group exhibition with Twelve Artists from the Dominican Republic, at Fondation Clément, Martinique. This immersive installation is a vibrant environment that draws on Afro-Caribbean spiritual traditions, pre-Columbian cosmologies, and diasporic cultural memory. Composed of a mask-like form crowned with feathers and surrounded by an exuberant assemblage of flowers, ribbons, wires, and gold leaves, the figure evokes ritual costumes worn by elder participants in the Gaga (Rara) rites of Hispaniola. The work references the archetype of the Sacred Clown or trickster—an intermediary between the spiritual and earthly realms—linking Taíno cosmology with figures such as the Orisha Elegua and other cross-cultural guardians of crossroads and transformation. Its lush, curving forms and saturated colors recall the theatrical sensuality of Baroque and Churrigueresque aesthetics, where excess and ornament become vehicles for spiritual expression. The reference to the Heyoka (clown spirit) was due to the critical political moment that Martinique was going through at that time.

“Diferentes Miradas” (Different Views) and presented by twelve artists from the Dominican Republic, namely: José Almonte, José García Cordero, Gerard Ellis, Thelma Leonor Espinal, Melvis Matos, Radhamés Mejía, Raúl Morilla, Iris Pérez-Romero, Charo Oquet, Miguel Ramírez, Genaro, Reyes – Cayuco, Ezequiel Taveras.