Artist statement
The relationship between tradition and contemporary living in Canadian society through depictions of urban perspectives has been central to my work as an artist. While not always welcoming change, we can understand the necessity for changes in science and technological developments. At the same time, we find comfort in our traditional rituals whether religious, moral or cultural. My family emigrated from a rural area of Jamaica that is reliant on old world technology (earth, wind, water and fire) contrasting the seemingly futuristic streets of downtown Toronto.
My current body of work combines tradition with contemporary content. I pull the threads from large canvases using a traditional African technique. New materials are intricately interwoven into the spaces where the threads have been removed. I add paint and further destroy and embellish the fabric. By subtraction and addition the work develops into a contemporary piece embedded with tradition. Employing the canvas as a metaphor for the underlying fabric of Canadian society I embed fragments of our culture inside the windows formed within the canvas. The square is a reoccurring element in my work and is used as a symbol of growth, order and stability that has become the backdrop for Western living.
