Europe: Passages or reflections

Abstract

This text reflects on identities from an African archipelago in the Atlantic that is part of the Spanish state. The Canary Islands were the first place colonized by Europeans in their expansion toward America. The text focuses on identity formation throughout the twentieth century. Reference is made to Canarian artists and poets such as Tomás Morales and Alonso Quesada, and more recent artists of international stature such as Manolo Millares, Martín Chirino, and César Manrique. The international context and the destruction of the idea of Europe are reflected from various perspectives. Reference is made to travelers who drew analogies between Canary Islanders and Native Americans, and the notion of “displacement” at every level is addressed. The article also discusses “foreigners” traveling back and forth in the era of advanced technology, globalization, and mass tourism. As Stefan Zweig and Franz Rosenzweig have observed since the 1920s, in the age of border control, anyone can become a “foreigner.” “Europe: Passage and Reflections” was born within the context of the exhibition “Europe, that Exotic Place” (2019–2020) and expands upon the reflection on insularities undertaken in the exhibition “Island Horizons” (2009–2010), which featured artists and writers from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Martinique, Guadeloupe, French Guiana, the Canary Islands, the Azores, Madeira, Cape Verde, and Réunion. The article also arose from the “Islands, Images, Imaginaries” discussion series held at Duke University in 2011.