Whitney Biennial 2019
May 17–Oct 27, 2019
Las Nietas de Nonó
59
Performance Dates
June 28, 29, 30
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Lydela Nonó: Born 1979 in San Juan, PR
Lives in Carolina, PR
Michel Nonó: Born 1982 in San Juan, PR
Lives in Carolina, PR
The collaborative duo Las Nietas de Nonó—sisters Lydela and Michel Nonó—draw on their own autobiographical, familial, and community histories in their interdisciplinary work, examining the dynamics of race, class, and colonialism in Puerto Rico. Ilustraciones de la Mecánica takes up the history of medical experimentation and the pharmaceutical industry on the island. One aspect of the work involves the reenactment of clinical trials conducted in the colony, including a program of mass sterilizations performed on poor Black women between the 1930s and 1980s and encouraged by the U.S. government. The work also reflects on the criminalization of Black men by La Mano Dura Contra del Crimen (The Hard Hand against Crime), a Puerto Rican government program of the 1990s, and the demonization of traditional healers as the U.S. pharmaceutical industry became a major player in the Puerto Rican economy. Ultimately Las Nietas are interested in connecting with the people who view their works—many of whom have experienced the very trauma the sisters depict in their performances.
Ilustraciones de la Mecánica, 2016-18
Las Nietas De Nonó, Ilustraciones de la Mecánica, 2016-18. Performance view, 10th Berlin Biennale for Contemporary Art, Berlin, Germany, 2018. Image courtesy the artists. Photograph by Timo Ohler
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Las Nietas de Nonó
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Sound description: The sound of a person beatboxing.
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