
Panûpünüwügai (Living Light)
- Publisher
- Radius Books
- Year
- 2025
- ISBN
- 9798890181176
- Specifications
- Hardcover
25.4 x 32.4 cm
244 pages
97 images
Photography by Cara Romero
Text by Cara Romero, Jami Powell, Karen Kramer, Suzan Shown Harjo, Joy Harjo, Jordan Poorman Cocker, Felicia Garcia, John R. Stomberg, and Kate Nelson
Co-published with The Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College
Cara Romero’s storytelling leads us into the future. Each image is a doorway to an even more profound level of imagination than thought possible and remakes a history that includes us: the grandchildren, the great-grandchildren, and those who follow, generation-by-generation. — Joy Harjo Throughout her renowned creative practice, Cara Romero has brilliantly challenged dominant narratives of Indigenous decline and erasure, disrupting preconceived notions about what it means to be a Native American. The artist’s first monograph, Panûpünüwügai (Living Light) , explores the ways in which her images simultaneously acknowledge the injustices of colonialism while centering the humanity and vitality of her Indigenous collaborators, inviting audiences to engage in transformative dialogues. Published in conjunction with the artist’s first solo museum exhibition of the same name, this comprehensive publication highlights the breadth of Romero’s practice, bringing together a dynamic selection of images from across her diverse bodies of work. Organized into thematic sections, the works are accompanied by essays from notable scholars, including Karen Kramer, Curator of Native American and Oceanic Art and Culture, Peabody Essex Museum; Suzan Shown Harjo; Joy Harjo; Jordan Poorman Cocker, Curator of Indigenous Art, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art; Felicia Garcia, Education Programs Manager at the Santa Ynez Chumash Museum and Cultural Center; Kate Nelson, an award-winning journalist; and Jami Powell, Associate Director of Curatorial Affairs & Curator of Indigenous Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth .