Why draw a
portrait?
I’ve always been drawn to
the faces of people that
surround me. Even when I
am not painting them I am
looking at faces trying to
figure them out; trying to
figure out their lineage and
their meaning. We all come
from somewhere and that
story is written across our
faces and on our body-that
fascinates me. Portraits are a
way of honoring a life and a
history.
How do you
select a person
you want to
paint?
It depends on what I am
painting. Most of my work
tells a story so I choose
subjects whose very image I
feel tells that story. I have to
confess that in that regard
I am not removed from my
context. I understand very
well that I am a Caribbean
being of African descent and
that the image of people
who look like me finds itself
continuously excluded from
notions of beauty, purity
and value. Through my work
I explore ways of removing
future generations further
For me it is about accurately away from that ignorance
portraying what I see before and I deliberately engage
me. There is truth in that
subject that reminds us of
process. I come with biases our humanity.
and they are not static, they
change and they reshape.
Similarly the model is not a
singular identity, they are a
multitude. The convergence
of us meeting is a very special occasion in our individual evolution and being faithful to that has a beauty on its It depends on the message
I am working on conveying.
own (if it can be achieved).
For example, in my current
work I am using the idea of
the angel to explore concepts of beauty and power.
It is important for me that
the images I produce relate
strongly to my context and
I capture what I am able to
this is interestingly where
see and what I am able to
the tension occurs. I have
render (technically). It is a
deliberately chosen subjects
constant battle between
whom I believe ask the viewattempting to remove the
“you” from the process and er to question their notions
of what shape purity takes
letting the process benefit
from the full wealth of your in our minds, and how the
beauty and ideals we aspire
humanity and training.
to define as well as shape us.
Is it about facial
expression?
Do they have
some important
characteristics?
What do you
capture?
You are also a
photographer. Is
there any connection
between
capturing
per