Meet Surrealist Photographer Lisandro Suriel

“I see myself as an explorer documenting the uncharted imagination of the African diaspora.”

Born and raised on St. Maarten before moving to The Netherlands and pursuing his artistic endeavours, Lisandro Suriel has just finished exhibiting “Ghost Island: Memória” in Brazil. The surrealist photographer went to Salvador, Brazil, to start his project, which explores the ghostly identity of the descendants of slaves that traversed The Middle Passage during the transatlantic slave trade.

The Weekender spoke to Suriel just as he was finishing up the project, and got to know more about him and his work.

“Ghost Island: Memória” is rooted in Suriel’s Master’s thesis research, where he analysed early twentieth century illustrations of West-Indian mythology in relation to cultural aphasia. He has earned a Master’s of Art in Artistic Research and Art Studies from University of Amsterdam, and holds a Bachelor’s degree in Photography from the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague.

Based in Amsterdam, his work explores the boundaries between fashion, photography, theatre and illustration.

Suriel has always been interested in the telling of fictional stories that have a close relationship to his personal life, and aims through his work to make dreamscapes that open up the mind for imaginative thinking. Growing up on St. Maarten, a child of a single Dutch mother and Caribbean father, Suriel says he took on an early awareness of cultural differences, and eventually came to embrace an imagined culture.

Ghost Island was curated by Lionel Lombard and made possible by the Mondriaan Fund. It also features collaboration with renowned Brazilian fashion designer Márcia Ganem, who incorporates indigenous Brazilian culture in her intricate designs, and has designed for stars including Janet Jackson and Alicia Keys.

What’s next, are you taking this exhibition anywhere else?

Salvador is just the beginning! The most beautiful thing about Ghost Island is that it exists and touches all people of the African diaspora. It stands for our collective source of knowledge about the immateriality that feeds our identity. I will strive to take this project to as many places of the diaspora as I can, not only to exhibit work, but also to continue the project artistically and to incorporate new local stories and perspectives.

There are so many stories to tell about our history that have gone unheard or have been forgotten. I see myself as an explorer documenting the uncharted imagination of the African diaspora. In other words, even though my work is surreal, I see it as a documentary of spirits in an unchartered black imagination. Currently there is interest in Ghost Island by galleries in South Africa, Europe and the United States.

What are your plans for the near future?

South Africa is the next step because of the interest in my work and the people with whom I would like to collaborate. Also, I plan to expand the research on ancestral memory while making new work. As part of Ghost Island, I also interview people to inquire about their knowledge of what it means to be black in their respective societies and how their curriculums and paradigms of history reflect that.

I also look for local lore, myths, legends and ghost stories that play a role in shaping our collective imagination of self. In other words, I am looking for the magic that binds us all in a socio-political landscape founded on the displacement of black people. Last winter, I was on the island, and conducted my first interview on Saint Martin for the project with the lovely and eloquent Ruby Bute.

I have also been accepted to present some of my research at the conference “Speaking with ghosts: Hauntology, memory, nostalgia and other ways of engaging with past/present/future.” in South Africa by SAVAH (South African Visual Arts Historians) at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology. In this way, St. Maarten is participating in the discourse surrounding the politics of memory on an international platform.

Do you plan on exhibiting in St. Maarten any time in the near future?

In the agenda for 2020, there is a plan to create a special exhibition for the SSS islands, in which the project is presented along with incorporated works specially made on each respective island. One of the missions of the project is to connect the peoples of the diaspora through imagination and untold stories. For this endeavour, Saint Martin, Saba and St. Eustatius are of particular importance because they provide a unique vantage point regarding culture and history.

When it comes to the untold story, these islands can definitely not be omitted, especially due to the fact that there generally isn’t much recorded and shared information about us. In my opinion, even within the academic scope of Dutch colonial history, there isn’t much information to be found on the SSS-lands: they speak more of Curaçao and Suriname. In its own way, Ghost Islands seeks to combat such institutional silencing of peoples and histories.

Are there any artists/photographers that have inspired you and shaped your style?

I am really moved by the work of visual artist Kara Walker. She combines magical fairy tale imagery with violent memories of a collective past. It is so beautiful that you cannot look away, thus compelling you to regard the atrocities on which our society is based.

What led you to Brazil, specifically?

Ghost Island led me to Brazil. In particular, it led me to Salvador. Salvador, the state capital of Bahia, was the first slave port in the Americas, and it is home to an intrinsic heritage of blackness that is undeniably imbedded in the people and landscape. Like many people of the diaspora, orthodox education has tried to teach me that our history begins with slavery. So from this notion, I set my eyes on Salvador: the place where black history allegedly began in the New World, according to the scope of imperialism. I came to Salvador to dismantle this core concept of imperialist chronology within the diaspora. It is an important step to take for the endeavour of reclaiming narratives of blackness.

How readers can connect:

Ghost Island is always seeking funding in the forms of grants and sponsorships. No money? No problem! We are also looking for immaterial donations of any kind, especially in the form of narrative. So we invite you to please share your knowledge with us. Together we can all contribute to the imagination of the diaspora!

This can be anything from legends and mythologies to folkloric stories. We are also in search of personal stories about spiritual experiences or paranormal encounters, and visions. Please feel free to write in your preferred language in the form at the bottom of the page www.lisandrosuriel.com/donate.

The Daily Herald

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