Works such as Written on Skin are informed by extended periods of research; the wall installation explores concepts of sacred spaces and spiritual encounters and the connection between the local community and its collective memory. 

The pieces imply that they are markers of energy—that these objects have become the conduits of energy. Like chakra stones that mark the radiation of energy within the earth or the body, they allude to the origins of magic writing such as veves and Ethiopian healing scrolls. My installation is an endeavor to unite abstraction with mythical concepts, highlighting the multidimensional character of rituals and politics, exposing the humanitarian and ecological impacts of globalization and its links to the waves of colonialism and migration which continually demarcate and define the spaces and temporalities of the U.S.

Charo Oquet is a Dominican-born, Miami-based interdisciplinary artist whose work spans social practices, performance, installation, painting, photography, sculpture, ceramics, and historical research. Oquet has been reworking visual references drawn from her research on Afro-Caribbean culture and rituals, revising historically-loaded representations of sacred spaces and symbols of healing and resistance. 

Oquet has worked collaboratively and individually on socially engaged, interdisciplinary projects for more than 43 years. In 2004, she founded the non-profit organization Edge Zones, which has hosted numerous curatorial projects and international artist collaborations, including the Miami Performance International Festival, Art of Uncertainty, ReMapping the Caribbean, and Reassessing the Diaspora. Through these initiatives, Oquet has woven together a dynamic network of artists and researchers, creating year-round programming that features the works of hundreds of Florida and international artists. 

Oquet’s own artistic practice has been recognized with numerous fellowships and awards, including the Bass Museum’s New Monument commission, the Ellies Creator Award, South Florida Cultural Consortium Visual and Media Artists Fellowship; MAP Fund, Florida State Artists Fellowship Award ; The National Performance Network (NPN) and the Grand Prize in the Dominican Biennial. Her work has been featured in prominent publications and is held in the collections of institutions such as the Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art, the Frost Museum, and the New Zealand National Museum, Wellington, N.Z. 

Her work has been featured in notable publications, including, Atlantica Art Journal, African Arts, Art in America, Art Nexus, and Art New Zealand, amongst others. Antonio Zaya Published a book of her work. As Editor of Edge Zones Press, Oquet has published eight books featuring a range of emerging and established local and regional artists in an effort to build a platform for international recognition and discourse.

Throughout her prolific career, Charo Oquet has made significant contributions to the understanding and celebration of Afro-Caribbean culture and its visual traditions, while fostering a vibrant and collaborative contemporary art community in Miami and beyond.