Take This Waltz
CHRISTINA PETTERSSON
FAENA ART PROJECT ROOM
January 20th - February 24th, 2023
In Take This Waltz, Christina Pettersson awakens the lost native landscape of a Miami Beach that once was—mangroves, saw palmettos, and a menagerie of creatures who once roamed the city now march through her installation in a gothic carnivalesque masquerade. This ‘end of days’ waltzing funeral procession envelops the space and pays homage to the underworld in an exploration of a crucial and unique historical environment.
By posing the question How do we hear the dead? Pettersson reminds us that what we have lost will not be returned to us, it will always be lost. As the ancient world disappears, our craving to commune with it grows, and in this exhibition the artist invites us to dance into the underworld with her.
...“So blow your trumpets, carry your torches and lanterns, and dive into the dying of the light. Dance with the bears, the wildcats, the mangroves and saw palmetto thickets. Be a messenger of plants. Risk exuberance. Remember our wild ancestry by this one and only briny sea, and do not be forlorn. It is Death, not art, that imitates life. And when it is dark enough you can see the stars.”
Christina Pettersson thanks Pedro Wazzan for his collaboration on this project and all participants who helped to create the characters that bring Take This Waltz to life.
SHE SPOKE FOR THE BIRDS
We joined Christina Petterson for the unveiling of her new mural, "She Spoke for the Birds," a permanent mural honoring Marjory Stoneman Douglas in the park that bears her name. Selected by the Art in Public Places Committee (AIPP), the artwork commemorates Douglas's enduring contributions to South Florida and her lifelong advocacy for the Everglades.
The work was made possible by the City of Miami Beach Mayor and City Commission, in collaboration with the Art in Public Places Committee and the Miami Beach Commission for Women.