Dear art lovers,
Readytex Art Gallery gladly invites you to come and enjoy the second series of artworks within the ‘The Myth of El Dorado’ art project by visual artist Kit-Ling Tjon Pian Gi. This marks the second phase of the project, which consists of the production of five series of nine small paintings of 30 x 30 cm and a number of corresponding blog posts published on her website https://kitlingtjonpiangi.net/blog/. Each series in this project highlights a specific animal species, and the beautiful hummingbird that came first, is now followed by the powerful jaguar.
As an extension of her studies into the cultural diversity, biodiversity and power of the Alakondre concept in Suriname, Kit-Ling recently decided to expand her research to the inner strength and wealth of the wider region that Suriname is a part of. Building on the age-old stories about El Dorado and the gold rush that accompanied it, she gives a personal twist to the myth: “My intuition told me that the gold of El Dorado was not only the precious metal that is called gold. I had to explore the culture of the indigenous people of South and Central America in search of their wisdom concerning the connection between animal and human.” While researching the cultural heritage in especially the visual language of the Indigenous people, Kit-Ling thus identified five interesting and specific animal species. Within her search for the other ‘gold’ of El Dorado, her focus has now turned to the jaguar.
During her research, the jaguar caught Kit-Ling’s attention for several reasons. The important role that the animal plays in countless indigenous cultures in the Americas, was at the core of this. This role is evident in among other things, the many masks, thrones, temples and rituals dedicated to the beautiful and powerful jaguar within the various traditional communities. With information from her research as well as stories and anecdotes, Kit-Ling’s blog post outlines why the jaguar is both feared and admired, but often also threatened in its different habitats.
The new series that she presents to the public in Readytex Art Gallery from September 7 – October 5, consists of nine portraits of the jaguar, each depicting its own unique character. To enjoy and/or purchase these works, you are welcome to visit during the regular opening hours of the gallery from Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm and on Saturday from 8:30 am to 1:30 pm.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Don’t forget to read the new and previous blog posts on the website of Kit-Ling Tjon Pian Gi:
https://kitlingtjonpiangi.net/the-myth-of-el-dorado-in-search-of-another-gold/
https://kitlingtjonpiangi.net/the-myth-of-el-dorado-2/
Team Readytex Art Gallery
