Only Earth and Sky Last Forever by Jacoub Reyes

Only Earth and Sky Last Forever, from Point of Reference, on view December 2021 at Ma’s House & BIPOC Art Studio Inc.

The Shinnecock Kelp Farmers are self-described as a collection of six multi-generational indigenous women addressing the climate crisis by opening a kelp hatchery. Shinnecock Nation faces many challenges from colonization and Western ideologies, including climate change. The kelp is essential in combating the erosion of shorelines, which if not stopped, will reduce the Nation’s territory by 75% due to nitrogen sequestration. The realized human and natural symbiotic relationship moved Reyes to create the following works.

Jacoub Reyes is a multi-disciplinary artist based in Florida. He finds and makes materials and tools as part of an experimental aspect of his process. Reyes salvages and transforms found wood to reflect how marginalized and oppressed communities have been cast aside throughout history. With these, he carves detailed large-scale allegorical woodcuts based on the acculturation of the Caribbean and the world at large. Reyes’ focus on colonization and indigenous peoples has led him to unpack his personal history and share a message he hopes prevents historic recurrences.

Reyes was a Ma’s House artist resident in December 2021.