Visual Interpretations of Body / Institution / Memory

The University of the West Indies

Faculty of Humanities and Education

Department of Creative and Festival Arts

Visual Arts Unit

Body / Institution / Memory ExhibitionThis exhibition opens with the Body, Institution and Memory Symposium on Friday October 25th 2013 and continues on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October from 10 a.m. - 5p.m

The exhibition features works of :Darron SmallKeomi SerretteMelanie KimSarah KnightsAlicia MilneGerrel SaundersMarisa RamdeenSebastian DeLancey

Curatorial Team:Ken CrichlowLesley-Ann NoelDaniella Carrington

The University of the West IndiesFaculty of Humanities and EducationDepartment of Creative and Festival ArtsVisual Arts Unit

The Department of Creative and Festival Arts in response to Caribbean InTransit’s call for papers invited eight (8) alumni to interpret the theme of the symposium, Body/Institution/Memory and one to curate an exhibition of this work.

The eight artists raise questions about interpretations of the body, is there a convergence around the themes? The gender of the artists, gender of the subjects… The artwork on display at times utilizes opportunities to layer statements, impressions and emotions onto the body, making it a canvas of criticisms either of oneself or perceived by other(s). Some works take to life or portray the departure of such, and the body could be seen as a portal for that transition or regeneration. There is also disembodiment characterized by the literal compartmentalization of the body, broken down into its disparate parts.

The feeling generated by the work of these artists is not to see the body, but beyond it.

This exhibition comprises a diverse set of media and techniques used by our alumni, which speaks to representations, interpretations, or even manifestations of the body, ranging from graphic design and typography, photography, encaustic painting, mixed media collages, sculpture in ceramic and cement and installation.

In engaging the curatorial process, I felt almost like a conductor bringing together separate sounds made by various artists to make a beautiful melody. Though the artists worked separately and did not know who the other artists were, we were able to see some overlaps and synergies in the treatment of the theme.

We are subject to interpretation. How we choose to conceal or reveal our understanding of others and ourselves becomes an interesting perspective on body, institution and memory.

Daniella CarringtonGuest Curator

Visual Interpretations of Body / Institution / Memory

Darron SmallBiography

A graduate of the University of the West Indies St. Augustine, Department of Creative and Festival Art’s Certificate and Degree in Fine Art programs, my journey through life has always been guided by the sole determination and drive to be an Artist. A painter by training and inclination, I do not limit myself to any one medium. Artists, through their work explore and interrogate the issues that impact the world in which they live in a way that goes beyond the peripheral. These works act as archives into the times and spaces in which they were created.

“ I intend to investigate the ritual practices of death as it relates to the human body.

”

The concept for this work in progress came out of a visit to the Temple in the Sea at Waterloo, central Trinidad. Originally built in 1947 by Siewdass Sadhu, an indentured laborer and Hindu devotee, the Mandir has become a noted place of veneration as well as a tourist attraction. The Mandir itself, located on a shallow stretch of coastline on the Gulf of Paria, is in the vicinity of three burial grounds belonging to the Muslim, Christian and Hindu faiths respectively, the Hindu cremation site being adjacent to the temple.

On the day of my visit to the site, a Hindu cremation ritual was about to take place. This was my first encounter with a Hindu funeral or a cremation of this kind. While walking along the shore line at low tide I observed what appeared to be numerous clay urns, presumably used in previous cremation rituals. It was then that I thought of each of them in terms of being the receptacle of the last vestiges of a human being, each representative of a life filled with experiences, emotions and memories now left to those who remain to cherish and carry on.

For my submission to the symposium on Body Institution and Memory I intend to investigate the ritual practices of death as it relates to the human body. Through my interrogation of the subject I hope to gain a better understanding of death, transition and the body as it is viewed by practitioners of the Hindu faith with some comparison to those beliefs and practices of the Muslim and Christian. I chose these three primarily because the close proximity in which their individual sacred grounds were to each other in relation to the Temple in the Sea.

Darron SmallThe Human Body In Transition

Gerrel SaundersBiography

Gerrel Saunders is a multi-disciplinary graphic designer and illustrator hailing from the beautiful twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, Gerrel is a teacher at the University of the West Indies and takes great pleasure in imparting his knowledge to those who need it. He is considers himself a Master Vector artist and his primary tool is the Pen-tool. You would find three recurring themes throughout Gerrel’s body of work, vibrant multilayered colors, insanely intricate line work and various skulls. He loves and welcomes the challenge of creating Illustrations using strictly vectors.

“ ...the convergence of beauty and emotion through the elegance of line and form. ”

My art today, is the convergence of beauty and emotion through the elegance of line and form. In my work, the themes and arrangements are uncomplicated, but invites the viewer to plunge in and bring their own opinion, speculation and interpretation to the forefront.

I am a Digital Artist. While I combine a variety of stories and styles to my projects, the works follow a consistent methodology. There may not always be subject likeness between the different projects, but they are connected by recurring techniques, colors, concerns and subject matter.

Gerrel SaundersBeauty and Emotion

Sarah KnightsBiography

Sarah R. L. Knights was born in the small town of Sangre Grande on March the 16th, 1983. She graduated from John S. Donaldson Technical Institute with an Associate Degree in Visual Communications. With a new understanding and appreciation for art, she furthered her studies in Visual Arts at the University of the West Indies.

”

...I want to translate the things that I hear and see .... current events or my own personal ...experiences into my paintings.

“

I want to translate the things that I hear and see whether through music, animation current events or my own personal day to day experiences into my paintings. Although ‘meaning’ is important to me, I’m also interested in making my pieces engaging, where I’m able to bring the grittiness of my work to life. The idea of using texture and pattern to create this desired effect excites me as it is almost impossible to ignore all the textures and patterns that are forever present—flaking paints on walls, the numerous prints and patterns on clothing, my own floral bed spreads and printed cushions, the bumpy uneven roads and pavements that makes up most of Trinidad’s landscape and the thousands of textures and patterns occurring in nature. However I’m forever scrutinizing my work getting rid of any distractions that will weaken the visual impact of the image as a whole.

Sarah KnightsUntitled

Keomi SerretteBiography

Keomi Serrette was born and raised in Morvant, Port-of-Spain in Trinidad. This young artist studied art at St. Dominic’s Convent School, Malick Baratar¬ia (now defunct) where in 2003 she was nominated for the Principal’s prize in Visual Arts. She advanced her studies at the University of the West Indies School of Continuing Studies Sixth Form School (presently U.W.I. Open Campus) where, in 2007 she was awarded as the Most Outstanding Visual Art Student.

Ms. Serrette has been an apprentice of Master Artist LeRoy Clarke for over the past seven years and has exhibited at the 2006 Carifesta Youth Exhibition at the Museum of the City of Port-of- Spain, the 2008 Emancipation Exhibition at the Lidj Yasu Emancipation Village and the 2010 Shabine at Soft Box Studio Gallery, St. Clair, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad. She is presently a student at the University of the West Indies St. Augustine Campus, where she is to receive her Bachelor Degree in Visual Arts.

UntitledMy inspiration for this installation has been birthed through my direct and personal affiliation to the area called Morvant/Laventille, as I am also a member of that community. Laventille is probably the oldest community in East Port of Spain, Trinidad. It is the home or birthplace to many distinguished innovators, sports men and sports women, cultural activist, mas makers, artists, poets and musicians to name a few. Additionally, Laventille is the place where steel pan was born, where pioneer such as

“ ...before you judge me, try hard to love me. ”

Keomi SerretteUntitled

Winston “Spree” Simon lived and created one of the new acoustical musical instrument in the twentieth century.

The devastating reality within Laventille is the evil and criminal elements that plagues the community. Crime and violence have held this community at ransom and the dreadful account of the testimonies of persons who have been victims of these criminal activities are as horrific and as frightening as the finger within the trigger of a gun pointed in a child’s direction.

Laventille has some of the highest crime rates in Trinidad and Tobago, with drugs, bloody gang related violence, youth delinquency and murders being the main problem in the community. Still, the percentage of positive persons within the community are far greater than that of those involved in criminal activities. Sad enough , only the negative elements of the community are highlighted by the media causing a devastating stigmatization on the entire district at large.

My work is therefore created with the intent to arouse memory of those persons who have lost their lives innocently during awful gang warfare. As well as to urge persons to remember that in Laventille’s case “one bad fruit doesn’t spoil the bunch”. Many positive well-meaning people come out of the area. My work therefore is an outward expression of an inward spiralling pain caused by man-made disasters. This installation is a part of a body of work that seeks to present my personal narrative.

“ One bad fruit does not spoil the bunch......My work is created with the intent to arouse memory of those persons who have lost their lives innocently during awful gang warfare.

”

Alicia MilneBiography

Alicia Milne is a Trinidadian artist who enjoys working with tactile materials. She also has an interest in manipulating moving images. Her drawings, plaster ceramic and video have been exhibited in Trinidad, Grenada, the United States and the Netherlands. She graduated of the University of the West Indies in 2009 with a BA Special in Visual Arts, Minoring in Cultural Studies.

“ Our bodies are holding bays for ideas full formed and in formation, absorbed from childhood. ”

Our bodies are holding bays for ideas full formed and in formation, absorbed from childhood, of how the collective institution operates. These ideas are carried forward, rejected and accepted.

Alicia MilneUntitled Children’s Head

Sebastian DeLanceyBody, Institution and Memory

Malvina.

There’s something deep in writing about art, especially when it’s your own. Constructing an artist’s statement can be an experience in itself- picking out the highlights of your process, finalising your thoughts and considering what the work really signifies in completion. It should be precise and informative, but too revealing, yet it should impact...you want it to resonate, like the mild sting of a bell pepper seed that found a ticklish corner under the reader’s tongue. It’s an artist’s statement, it should sound intelligent – and intelligence is a main construct when exploring art as an institution in the contemporary setting. Art provides a grey space of convergence where several disciplines interact; this is the essence of the institution. However, the collective is voiced under the umbrella of “Art”, and at points the source of the influences becomes clouded.

...deconstruction and isolation are used in the artwork to create parallel between the proposed ideology and the visual diction. ”

“

Sebastian DeLanceyBody, Institution and Memory

Sebastian DeLanceyBody, Institution and Memory

As such deconstruction and isolation are used in the artwork to create an obvious parallel between the proposed ideology and the visual diction. Discourses about the role and importance of Art, or in this instance Art as an institution, stirs penetrative questions as to what provokes artists to pursue particular fields of interest and what feeds into the end product. In 2013 information has long become available with the flick of the fingertips. Ideas are sifted through retrospect and introspect more quickly than ever before. Considering this factor – can intelligence be exhausted and become conventional? If so, can such a phenomenon then lead to the decline of the collective creative currency in the grey space...?

Marisa RamdeenBiography

Marisa S. Ramdeen was born and raised in Arima. She attended North Eastern College where she pursued both Science and Art. She has earned a BA in Business Administration (with Honours) from Anglia Ruskin University in 2005. After leaving the banking industry to pursue a career in fine art she became a student of The University of the West Indies. In 2009 she earned a Certificate in Visual Arts and received the Pat Chu Foon Award for Best Certificate student in Visual Arts. During 2011 she was awarded the Eastman-Christensen Prize for Excellence. She completed a BA Special in Visual Arts (with First class Honours in 2012) and received the MP Alladin Award for Best Degree Visual Art student.

She was part of a four member team that was commissioned to paint a mural commemorating the legacy of Arima during the National 50th Independence. The mural is located at the Arima stadium, opposite the Arima health facility. As well as Marisa is a member of the “Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago”, “Women in Art” and “Canvas Caribbean” and is registered as an artist with the Ministry of Multiculturalism.

She currently teaches Visual Arts at NorthGate College, St. Augustine where she heads an after school Art and Design Club which encourages students to explore their creativity outside the classroom.

“ ...the body as an institution...inseparable from the individual through the formation of memories. ”

It is that sense of adventure and exploration with which Encaustic presents itself. Encaustic which means to ‘burn into’ is the application of a Bees wax and pigment mixture. My decision to explore wax as an art making medium was based on its malleability and versatility. Its application bridges the gap between painting and sculpting and its somewhat unpredictable nature often yields mysterious results. This exciting medium facilities the creation of signifiers that are as multilayered, rich and profound as the narrative behind the work. While working in wax is challenging, its unpredictability frees me from precedence and allows me to discover the natural story of the media.

The experience of working with wax is a very sensory one as it involves constant heat, sweet aroma, luxurious textures and transparent layers. To my delight, entranced bees often buzz into my work space and hypnotically interact with the paintings in progress. While I enjoy working with acrylic paint, graphite, charcoal, oil and soft pastels, clay, wire, fiber and found objects, it is a pleasure to use such an ancient technology. I find the opportunity to communicate contemporary ideas through experimenting with such a traditional conduit exhilarating. This particular work is an expression of the body as an institution that assimilates experiences which become inseparable from the individual through the formation of memories. These memories which are laid over time become the fabric of the portrait. The intense gaze of the subject arrests the viewer and initiates the process of ‘reading the face’. It is not the memory or the experiences themselves that engages the viewer but the long lasting and deeply internalized effects that they produce.

Marisa RamdeenEncaustic

Melanie KimBiography

Melanie Kim was born in Trinidad and spent most of her childhood in St. Ann’s and St. James. She received her BA in Visual Arts at The University Of The West Indies and currently resides in D’Abadie. During her experience at the university she gravitated towards sculpture using clay and plaster paris in her pieces. Drawing sessions are always an important element in her working process. Her interest lies in exploring the human figure and the various ways in which one can depict it. She uses various techniques and materials to create both two dimensional and three dimensional work.

“ The piece displays the contrast and unity created between old and new ideas in development.

”

The piece displays the contrast and unity created between old and new ideas in development. It creates two distinct views; a powerful, older, authoritative entity and the other possessing something the other does not have. They appear as opposites. Symbolizing a form of establishment with the head new concepts emerge and borrows from memory to enhance, build and stimulate growth. The figure embraces new possibilities translated through its gesture. Two different perspectives, but both drawing from each other in a marriage of concepts. Drawing with newsprint attempts to create a sense of layering stories from the past into unexplored territories.

Melanie KimDrawing Out