These four collages, commissioned by the Carnegie Museum of Art for the 58th Carnegie International, explore gender role reversal by highlighting the stories of Afro-Caribbean women who disguised themselves as men to work as coal sifters in Panama Canal construction sites. Through these artworks, I aim to shed light on a lesser-known chapter of Panamanian history while focusing on the resilience and ingenuity of these women as they navigated and fooled the system in order to provide for themselves and their families. The collages draw inspiration from historical accounts found in “An Economic History of Women in America” by Julie Matthaei, “Seventy Summers, Vol. 2” by Poultney Bigelow, and “An Old Woman Remembers… The Recollected History of West Indians in Panama, 1855-1955” by Carlos E. Russell. These stories celebrate the resourcefulness and determination of Afro-Caribbean women on the Isthmus.
