Naomi, 2017
Archival pigment print
17 × 20 inches (print)
Edition of 10, signed by the artist
$2,500
“When people ask, ‘Why don’t you speak your language, why don’t you dress a certain way?’ there is a pushback and an exhaustion, where I want to respond, ‘because you forcefully took it all away.’ Conversely, some of them exist against all odds, and I do like to examine that in my photographs. If you look at the photograph of Naomi and the work of Leah Mata Fragua . . . it’s about California culture against all odds.”
—Cara Romero
This photograph features Naomi Whitehorse, the daughter of artist and regalia maker Leah Mata Fragua, both Northern Chumash from San Luis Obispo. Naomi carries dance sticks and wears a headdress adorned with white dove and goose feathers as well as a dress adorned with abalone. She wears necklaces made from pine nuts, Olivella snails, abalone, and clamshells, materials worn as adornments by her tribe for thousands of years. Her regalia and the natural materials surrounding her, combined with the bright pink ground and the beadwork -- inspired black-and-white triangular patterns on the frame, create an eye-catching ode to California pop.
All proceeds directly support the production and programming of
Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light)
Naomi, 2017
Archival pigment print
17 × 20 inches (print)
Edition of 10, signed by the artist
$2,500
“When people ask, ‘Why don’t you speak your language, why don’t you dress a certain way?’ there is a pushback and an exhaustion, where I want to respond, ‘because you forcefully took it all away.’ Conversely, some of them exist against all odds, and I do like to examine that in my photographs. If you look at the photograph of Naomi and the work of Leah Mata Fragua . . . it’s about California culture against all odds.”
—Cara Romero
This photograph features Naomi Whitehorse, the daughter of artist and regalia maker Leah Mata Fragua, both Northern Chumash from San Luis Obispo. Naomi carries dance sticks and wears a headdress adorned with white dove and goose feathers as well as a dress adorned with abalone. She wears necklaces made from pine nuts, Olivella snails, abalone, and clamshells, materials worn as adornments by her tribe for thousands of years. Her regalia and the natural materials surrounding her, combined with the bright pink ground and the beadwork -- inspired black-and-white triangular patterns on the frame, create an eye-catching ode to California pop.
All proceeds directly support the production and programming of
Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light)
