Reclaimed: Indo-Caribbean HerStories is a mixed-media ceramic-based exhibition that illuminates the power, courage and strength of Indo-Caribbean women, past and present. Through a feminist lens, the exhibition narrates the little-known histories of Indo-indentureship in the mid 19th and early 20th centuries. Using photographic portraiture on ceramics, both archival and contemporary, the work draws in the visual narrative of the women’s indo-indentured jewelry as symbolic of strength, courage and resistance. It is an act of reclamation and decolonization.

There are three main components to the exhibition: a wall-mounted set of contemporary portraits on porcelain, lit from behind, depicting contemporary Indo-Caribbean women holding a matrilineal ancestral photograph; a two-sided collage of “Coolie Belles” photographs and ephemera on porcelain in window frames, inspired by early 20th century postcards; and a series of abstract figurative sculptures that respond to the photographic work, amidst select pieces of the Indo-indentureship silver jewelry.

Artist Bio: Heidi McKenzie is a Toronto-based ceramic installation artist of mixed Indo-Caribbean/Irish heritage who engages with themes of race, ancestry, memory and archive.

Exhibition dates: February 27 – April 25, 2025. Opening reception: Thursday, February 27, 4:00 – 6:00 pm. Virtual artist talk on zoom: Tuesday, March 11, 2025, 4:00 – 5:15 pm. Exhibition tour: TBA