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La Vaughn Belle

Trinidad and Tobago, 1974

BiographyLa Vaughn Belle studied at Columbia University in NY and the Institute of Fine Art in Cuba. Her work has evolved from figurative and symbolic explorations in painting to a variety of modes that include video, performance, installation and public intervention projects. The emphasis of her work does not lie in the medium, but in creating a dialogic space to explore the relationship between art and daily life. Along with several personal shows, she has exhibited in the Caribbean, the US and Europe.

Filmed in several different homes in Havana, this project came out of an interest in the
aesthetics of Caribbean interior décor and in particular in the commonly featured coffee
table or “mesita de sala”. I found that the objects and figurines collected on the tables
revealed a peculiar discourse between the public and private. I saw these “decorative
altars” as another type of engagement with the sacred, the intimate and the ritual. As
simultaneous public and private spaces they are full of the possibility for transformation
and exchange. Through the animation of these static objects, I try to show how that
possibility could be achieved.

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