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courtesy of artist and Kavi Gupta gallery
![Suchitra Mattai, lost in translation, 2021](https://artlogic-res.cloudinary.com/w_1600,h_1600,c_limit,f_auto,fl_lossy,q_auto/artlogicstorage/kavigupta/images/view/b11b3bf3a05c00ec2ad9ee7fc5df390ej/kaviguptagallery-suchitra-mattai-lost-in-translation-2021.jpg)
Suchitra Mattai Guyana, b. 1973
lost in translation, 2021
Gouache and found plate fragment
16 x 20 in
40.6 x 50.8 cm
40.6 x 50.8 cm
8797
Suchitra Mattai has made a number of pieces that contain something broken, which was formerly discarded. In this work, a painted image completes a found, broken plate with an old...
Suchitra Mattai has made a number of pieces that contain something broken, which was formerly discarded. In this work, a painted image completes a found, broken plate with an old western motif telling a colonial story of church and community. In a way, it’s a celebration of what was once discarded. In another way it parallels the idea of giving a new voice to people who weren't included before. Mattai is the finisher of the colonizer’s story—the artist as super heroine. This piece belongs to a series Mattai debuted in 2023, memorializing super heroines as embodiments of feminine empowerment. A lot of these works celebrate the power of women, while simultaneously reimagining colonial narratives. “These elements are tied together, so I find it hard to extricate them,” says Mattai. “The wonder of art is that it doesn’t have to be one element. Stories are complex. I want to portray that in the works.”