Sana Musasama’s dream comes true through a collection of topsy-turvy dolls

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For 15 years, ceramist Sana Musasama dreamed of exhibiting her art at Syracuse’s Everson Museum of Art. Today, her collection, “Returning to Ourselves,” is displayed at the museum for the local community to enjoy.

“I am deeply happy to be at the Everson,” Musasama said. “I have been there numerous times, and I just kept saying ‘Sana, one day,’ and this is my one day.”

“Returning to Ourselves,” which will be on display until April 28, showcases a series of dolls based on African American topsy-turvy dolls crafted from clay and fabrics. Musasama uses this exhibit to spotlight personally influential figures from the Black diaspora, according to the Everson’s website.

Topsy-turvy dolls are two-headed, two-bodied dolls that are conjoined at the waist. The dolls — which originated during the 19th century — rotate on display, with one head being revealed as the other is concealed by the folding of their dress. While the original use of the doll is hotly debated, many believe that enslaved Black women sewed them for their children to play with.

Along with the primary series of dolls, “Returning to Ourselves” features a collection of sculpted houses and mixed-media “I See Me” dolls that were shown in “I Never Played With Dolls,” a previous collection by Musasama displayed at Brooklyn’s Tiger Strikes Asteroid gallery in 2022.

The current exhibit is a return to work Musasama made 40 years ago called “The House Series,” which includes multiple ceramic houses that were inspired by her travels abroad.

“As a world traveler, my body became my house. As a woman moving around without a companion, my body became my house,” Musasama said. “I made the houses 40-something years ago, living around the world and learning about the concept and relationship that different cultures have to the house and to the body.”

During quarantine, Musasama sat in her living room, staring at the houses she had made decades before, and asked them, “Are you as lonesome as me?”

“I was torn between, ‘Should I be an artist or should I be an activist? Should I be in the streets marching? What do I do with myself? How do I save Sana?’” Musasama said. “I returned to this body of work as a way of healing and returning to myself.”

The Everson counts its ceramics collections as one of its greatest strengths, said curator Garth Johnson. He said the Everson prides itself on providing a platform for artists who address social and political issues through their work.

“Her exhibition is a perfect fit for our community, which has both a large Black population and a very important role in the history of the suffrage movement and the abolitionist movement, which are both addressed through Sana’s dolls,” Johnson said.

Johnson has known Musasama for much of her career and said her exhibit is a reflection “of all of the different parts of her.”

Curation and Exhibition Manager Steffi Chappell described Musasama’s exhibit as “dynamic,” noting that her use of various patterns and colors draws the viewer in.

“Our community has enjoyed learning about an artist that they may not have known before, and has been very engaged with the histories woven into Musasama’s work, particularly her topsy-turvy dolls,” Chappell said.

Musasama has been creating for more than 50 years and has been teaching ceramics in higher education for almost 30 years. She said, as an artist, academia allowed her to maintain her craft while also offering the financial stability to “make work for the world.”

Musasama plans to retire from academia at the end of this semester and begin residencies around the world, a plan she had to put on hold due to the pandemic. She said she believes this next chapter will “jumpstart” her to “feel like the Sana (she) felt like before.”

Musasama said “Returning to Ourselves” has allowed her to find joy in her art and in her life again. She hopes her work will have the same impact on others that it has had on her.

“I want viewers to look at work that is five months old and work that is 40 years old with the same story, the same content, the same heartbeat and know that we never stop learning. We never stop evolving. We never stop dreaming,” Musasama said. “‘And sometimes, we return to ourselves to restart.”