Racquel Rowe: Bodies of Water

Racquel Rowe, Bodies of Water, 2023, 8:00 min, video still, filmed by Malik Mings, courtesy of the artist.

Racquel Rowe: Bodies of Water

March 25 – April 25, 2025
Online and in the Picture Window from dusk to dawn
Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University

In her short, poignant video, Bodies of Water (2023), artist Racquel Rowe examines various aspects of Blackness in relation to the Black experience of water. Borne of the artist’s ongoing interest in migration, the video considers relationships between Black embodiment and the oceans, lakes, seas, and other bodies of water near the places Black people call home. Opening with a view of the artist and another performer (Kesean Abrams), both dressed in white, the video shows the pair silently sharing time at the beach. Eventually, they enter the crystalline waters to perform a ritual. Against the backdrop of the history of the Black Atlantic, the spare poetry of this performance generates a kaleidoscope of connections between Black bodies and water. Using the imagery of baptism, it also celebrates water as a site of rebirth and regeneration.

Racquel Rowe is an interdisciplinary artist from the island of Barbados currently residing in Canada. She has exhibited widely across Canada and holds an MFA from the University of Waterloo and a BA in History and Studio Art from the University of Guelph. Her practice is continuously influenced by many aspects of history, matrilineal family structures, diasporic communities, and her upbringing in Barbados. Her work includes performance, video, photo, painting, drawing and installation.​

This presentation of Bodies of Water is part of the programming for Photo East, a new free-travelling festival of contemporary photography based in New Brunswick. The inaugural iteration of Photo East will take place in Moncton and Sackville from April 3 to 6, 2025. The festival exhibitions bring together Atlantic-based and visiting artists to encourage cross-cultural art engagement in Atlantic Canada.

We would like to acknowledge that the Owens Art Gallery, Mount Allison University, is located within the traditional territory of Mi’kma’ki, the unceded ancestral homelands of the Mi’kmaq. Our relationship and our privilege to live on this territory was agreed upon in the Peace and Friendship Treaties of 1725 to 1752. Because of this treaty relationship, it is to be acknowledged that we are all Treaty People and have a responsibility to respect this territory.

Owens Art Gallery
Mount Allison University
61 York Street Sackville, NB, E4L 1E1
506-364-2574
owens@mta.ca
www.owensartgallery.com
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Monday to Friday, 10:00 am to 5:00 pm
Saturday and Sunday, 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Admission is Free

The Owens is partially accessible. The stairs from the entrance nearest the University Chapel have a handrail. There is also ramp access at this entrance, however, the ramp is steep. The stairs to the entrance off York Street have a handrail, but no ramp, and are covered with temporary wood treads. The main floor of the Owens is wheelchair accessible. Our second-floor gallery and gendered bathrooms are located in the basement and are not accessible. Two flights of stairs lead to each of these floors. LED lights are used throughout the building. The Owens welcomes guide dogs and other service animals. The closest accessible parking spaces are located on York Street across from the Owens. For detailed information on venue access, please visit our Accessibility page. If you would like to visit the Owens at a quieter time, or when all staff and visitors are masked, private visits can be arranged from 9:00-10:00 am on weekdays.

If you have any questions about your visit, please email owens@mta.ca or call (506) 364-2574.