Redefining the hyphen: Transnational Indo-Caribbean identity through objects, memory and representation in conversation with Jacqui Ramrayka

This article explores the evolving transnational Indo-Caribbean diasporic identity through artistic expressions. I examine the work of British-Guyanese ceramicist, Jacqui Ramrayka, whose recent exhibition, ‘Redefining the Hyphen’, at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, highlights the tensions between cultural preservation and identity formation within the Indo-Caribbean communities in London, New York and Toronto. Through a conversation with Ramrayka we interrogate how material culture, memory and migration shape diasporic consciousness. We unpack how Ramrayka’s clay and conversation workshops in these three cities present an innovative approach to capturing how people in different migratory contexts construct meaning and interrogate their cultural identity through interaction with objects. Additionally, this article contextualizes Indo-Caribbean identity within broader socio-political structures of the diasporic communities in the Global North. By engaging largely with second-generation communities and their negotiations of belonging, this conversation contributes to the discourse on transnationalism, diasporic identity and the role of artistic practices in navigating histories of indentureship and migration. Ultimately, it foregrounds the hybridity of Indo-Caribbean identity as an ongoing process of redefinition and reclamation.