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Starting in the mid 1800’s, indentured laborers from India were sent throughout the globe as a substitute for slave labor. My grandparents entered Trinidad and Tobago as indentured laborers to continue working on sugar plantations, and this has been a point of departure for ongoing dialogue and research.  

My work is ultimately autobiographical, influenced by my family’s history and the narratives, myths and folklore  that were borne because of this migration. Working with photography, painting, installations, research and travel, my work investigates themes of history and memory and how they inform identity.

 

Renluka Maharaj was born in Trinidad and Tobago and works between Colorado, New York City  and Trinidad.  She attended the University of Colorado, Boulder where she earned her BFA , and her MFA at The School Of The Art Institute of Chicago in. She has received numerous awards including Martha Kate Thomas Fund, the Presidential Scholarship at Anderson Ranch Center and the  Barbara De Genevieve Scholarship.  Her works are in institutional collections including The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, Joan Flasch artist book collection, Los Angeles Center for Digital Art, Flaten Museum, special collections at the University of Colorado, Boulder as well as numerous private collections. Her work has been recognized through various fellowships and residencies including Project For Empty Space, Golden Arts Foundation, Fountainhead Residency, Vermont Studio Center to name a few.  Her work has also appeared most recently in Washington Post, Elle India, Harper's Bazaar India, New American Paintings, Coolitude Volume II, Juxtapoz and Hyperallergic. 

 

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