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(L) Black Bear Jr. (Arapahoe,) ca 1900. Photographer F. A. Rinehart, (R) An Indian from India, War Paint, 2001
REVISION(ING) HISTORY THROUGH A LOCAL ARTIST’S LENS URI professor Annu Palakunnathu Matthew’s ReVision rewrites historical narratives with photography and mixed media Images can tell stories just as profoundly as words, and Annu Palakunnathu Matthew’s ReVision, a sweeping exhibition of two decades’ worth of the photographer and mixed media artist’s work currently on view at the Newport Art Museum through January 9, shares an expansive narrative of stories left untold. “We are at a crossroads in terms of re-looking at narratives we take as truth,” she says. “There are other people’s stories that need to be told and we haven’t allowed these voices to speak.” Matthew came to Rhode Island 23 years ago to teach at URI. She points out the influence her academic career, particularly as director of the URI Center for the Humanities, has on her art. “I am constantly re-looking at histories,” she notes. “I love my students,” she continues. “Many are first in their families to go to college. It’s empowering to teach them.” Born in the United Kingdom, Matthew’s family returned to India when she was 13. “It’s the story of my life: an insider and an outsider,” she continues. “I have a combination of accents. People don’t know where I am from.” Original photo courtesy Western History/Genealogy Department, Denver Public Library, Denver, CO.
SORhodeIsland.com • January 2022
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