Bahamian-born artist Anina Major (b. 1981, Nassau, Bahamas; lives in New York) works at the intersection of ceramics, sculpture, and installation, using clay to eternalize the cultural practice of weaving—a tradition that holds stories of labor and ancestry. By hand-weaving clay to resemble palm-leaf plaiting, she transforms a tradition rooted in softness and impermanence into one of permanence and reverence. This shift from organic fiber to fired earth honors the labor, knowledge, and lineage embedded in Bahamian craft—elements often overlooked or commodified within the tourism economy. Major’s practice reflects the tension between the Bahamas’ image as a marketed paradise and the undervalued cultural traditions that define its identity.

For her forthcoming project at PAMM, Major expands these ideas into an immersive installation that includes Water Tower (2024), from the museum’s collection. The environment will feature towering woven clay sculptures, bottle trees, and a path of crushed conch shells—materials that ground the installation in the cultural and ecological history of the Caribbean. By reimagining weaving through clay, Major elevates a practice often dismissed as craft, presenting it instead as a profound statement on memory, value, and belonging.