The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth presents the exhibition Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) by Cara Romero. It is presented as follows.
The Chemehuevi word panûpünüwügai, which translates to “living light,” has multiple meanings: the spirit of light; the way light interacts with people; and how both light and people are enlivened through these interactions. We see its rich implications in the art of Cara Romero, who both paints with light in her photography and brings light to the stories she tells.
Romero combines her photography training and darkroom skills with digital photographic technologies to create vibrant, provocative, and even otherworldly images. Working closely with family, friends, and collaborators, the resulting photographs challenge dominant narratives of Indigenous decline and erasure and disrupts preconceived notions about what it means to be Native American. While Romero’s sophisticated images often speak to the injustices of colonialism, they are also careful to center the humanity and vitality of her subjects. More than anything, Romero’s photographs celebrate the multiplicity, beauty, and resilience of Native American and Indigenous experiences, both historically and today.
At the same time, Romero’s photographs invite all audiences to consider important concepts such as appropriation, reclamation, environmental racism, rematriation, and Indigenous futurisms. Made by and for Indigenous peoples, this work often presents deeply personal perspectives, but the conversations are for everyone. No matter your background, knowledge, or experience, you too are invited to enjoy, ponder, and ask questions about what you see here.
Jami C. Powell (Osage)
Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs and Curator of Indigenous Art
This exhibition is organized by the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth, and generously supported by leadership gifts from Claire Foerster and Daniel S. Bernstein ’87 and Thomas A. Russo ’77 and Georgina T. Russo ’77, as well as support from the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Charles Gilman Family Endowment, and a gift from Karen Miller Nearburg and Charles Nearburg ’72.
Cara Romero: Panûpünüwügai (Living Light)
January 18–August 10, 2025
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth
Dartmouth College
6 E Wheelock St, Hanover, NH 03755
https://hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu/
