CASSANDRA MAYELA

MAPS OF DISPLACEMENT

October 7 - 27, 2021

Olympia is proud to present Maps of Displacement, Cassandra Mayela’s first solo exhibition in New York City . Mayela studies Venezuelan diasporas through the medium of textiles, specifically garments with significant past lives. Maps of Displacement is an ongoing participatory project - this weaving is the first of an ongoing sculptural study that focuses on the Venezuelan migration to regions around the world.

The sculpture is comprised of New York-based Venezuelan immigrants’ clothing that Cassandra Mayela collected, starting April 2021. The clothing is cut and then woven into a tapestry to illustrate how fragments ultimately comprise a whole. Through tactile memory and collective nostalgia, Cassandra poses a poignant question — how is identity shaped by the things we carry and physical places we occupy?

Venezuela has the world's second-largest external displacement crisis, just after Syria. Yet it remains one of the most underfunded crises of modern times.According to the UNHCR and the OAS, the Venezuelan exodus is the largest migration that has existed in the history of the Western Hemisphere. It is estimated that by the end of 2021 at least 20% of the Venezuelan population (7 million) will have emigrated - to put it in context, this is only slightly less than the population of New York City (8.4 million).

Maps of Displacementuses non-verbal storytelling to explore identity through fabric and touch. Following this exhibition, Cassandra plans to continue the project in other areas that have been significant to the Venezuelan exodus.

Cassandra Mayela Allen has lived and worked in New York since 2014, when she was forced to migrate from Venezuela. Her practice delves into identity, migration, and belonging, drawing from personal experiences, research, and conversations. Recent solo exhibitions include: Olympia (New York, NY, 2024, 2021); JO-HS (Mexico City, Mexico, 2023); NADA House (New York, NY, 2022).

Group exhibitions include: Eric Firestone (East Hampton, NY, 2024); Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit (Detroit, MI, 2024); V1 Gallery (Copenhagen, Denmark, 2024); apexart (New York, NY, 2024); Olympia (New York, NY, 2023); EFA Project Space (New York, NY, 2023); Acompi and NARS Foundation (New York, NY, 2021).

Mayela Allen was an Artist in Residence at Modern Ancient Brown (Detroit, MI, 2024) and will be in residence at Campo Garzon this December (Pueblo Garzon, Uruguay, 2024). Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Bomb Magazine, Family Style, and Vogue Mexico.