We inhabit an elusive space, where there is an ongoing struggle to find the missing pieces of self. We are all on the journey to be accepted and to feel a sense of belonging.
The act of copying or imitating dominant culture is evident in the formation of sub-cultures resulting from class distortion that has its association with colonialism. With this in mind, I create works surrounding this duality that plays a vital role in the formation of cultural identity as a product that is constantly changing and not fixed. There is an obsession with the need for acceptance and belonging, I use my works to add to the ongoing dialogue on the subject of cultural identity and representation. Objects such as collars, hair, pearls, spoons, lace, and cane are reoccurring in the works and act as a signifier of control, restriction, and royalty/high society. These motifs are juxtaposed with figures in the works to highlight the tension regarding class struggles in society.
Thecurrent series of works that I started in late 2018 explore the nature of ‘lure’and the role it plays a medium that attracts, tempt, and entice an artificialbait a means of survival. The strategy of mimicry serves as a device forcopying, inventing and fabricating cultural trends in the quest for belonging. TheCaribbean has always been a place that attracts outsiders, a place to beconquered. I am interested in how we look at the other and how we observeourselves through the stories told by history. The practice of exchanging andcopying from dominant cultures presents, conflicts, struggles, and superficialrealities. The integration of objects juxtaposed with the figure within theworks serves as markers of class distinction, status, and dependency. The intentwithin the works is to comment on how the images that culture imposes on theviewer become a cause of conflict.
Reference is made to the history of portraiturein particular, Renaissance and Dutch 16-17th, where an aspect ofthis history is appropriated and re-contextualized in its representation. I usethe idea of portraiture as a tool that imitates the model, incorporating bothtraditional and contemporary painting languages to create a 'story' within theworks.