When artist Joiri Minaya began searching on Google using the terms “Domincan women,” she was inundated with pictures of women modeling in what seemed like variations of the same few poses. It seemed like all of the women either had their hands jauntily placed on hips, or lying in the style of an odalisque.
Minaya has used the results that the search engine generated, which she described as “representations that are exotic and obedient to foreign fantasies, yet seemingly assertive and self-confident,” as material for multiple bodies of work. Among these was the years-long series “Containers” (2015–2020), in which textiles based on the flora and patterns foundational to the aesthetic of Afro-diasporic peoples in the Americas that were printed onto full-body spandex suits. In her striking photographs, the artist’s figure is completely obscured by the spandex suit, set against backdrops of similar patterns, so that she becomes part of the scenery.
