Malaga Island Layers
Francy Hinds
2025
Sculpture, found wood, paint
Francy’s sculpture reflects on the 1912 eviction of Malaga Island’s mixed-race fishing community. Using layered driftwood to echo archaeological middens, her piece reclaims this history with beauty and dignity, inviting reflection and remembrance.
Francy Hinds is a recent graduate of Maine College of Art & Design and a former intern at Indigo Arts. Her work explores the dynamics between Black and non-Black bodies in institutional spaces.
Malaga Island is one of hundreds of islands in Casco Bay, but the mistreatment of its prior inhabitants remains a significant stain on Maine’s history. In 1912, the entirety of the Malaga community was forcefully evicted from their island with the intent to build a resort over their homes and burial grounds. While the people were removed, foundations destroyed, and their burial grounds were desecrated, exhumed, and combined, the resort never came to fruition.
A little over a hundred years later, archeological research conducted by affiliates of USM revealed traces of the Malaga people in the sediment. They were able to observe cultural practices through the presence and prevalence of haddock, pollock, and other cod remains in the soil. The presence of these remains at varying depths revealed the consistency of these species through different time periods, while the treatment of them revealed culinary and hunting practices. Simultaneously, they were able to observe culture and ecology.
Malaga Island Layers references the divisions of these middens and the descendant discoveries found within their layers. The wood was sourced from debris collected during cleanup we did in our Ocean Currents class. The titles on each block reference the excavation sites, each named after a former inhabitant of the island.
Twenty young artists created art centered on the challenges, hopes, and fears for Casco Bay’s past, present, and future.
What happens when a group of young artists turn their talents toward protecting Casco Bay? A new collaboration with MECA&D brought powerful, creative answers.
