Caribbean Entertainment Magazine - Volume 6 Nov - Dec 2013 | Page 62
The relationship between an image and the reality it purports to represent is, according to
many contemporary critics, inherently political. This stems in part from the work of poststructuralist theorists, who have identified a connection between images and power. In my
exhibition, each piece seems to indicate something specific and contributes meaningfully
to my visual language. The highly sophisticated spatial organization, negative space treatment and non-orthodox idiom in the figure rendering supersede naturalistic accuracy. My
artistic expression goes beyond pictorial representation and becomes the affirmation of one
whose ontological foundation expresses the will to use the media as a vehicle to convey an
idea or narrative. I seek to make advancement in the visual understanding of the figures
and in how they may be rendered.
This body of work reflects my personal journey in exploring the idea of cleansing. I draw,
paint, create and strive to find fulfillment in my ability to translate thoughts and visions on
the canvas without words, instead, with the ripeness of colour and texture. The body of
work seeks to interrogate the notion of "wash-in to wash-out" and examines the narrative
of cleansing. The context of cleansing is not used in its literal sense but in the context of
applying symbolic genres and dynamic structures with in which the human experience,
meaning and value are stimulated and emerged.
Figurative drawing/painting has been a practice since time immemorial. The simple figures
inscribed on the walls of prehistoric caves are eloquent testimony that this is an activity
that is virtually as old as humankind itself. There is an incredibly amount of diversity in
this genre, but plenty of challenges when it comes to painting figures with power and
depth. My fascination with the human figure propelled and accounted for the choice of
subject matter. More so, the female form. This body of work seeks to utilize the female figure as the main "motif" to illustrate women and the plethora of issues and challenges they
are bombarded with, particularly violence.
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