For the last week of “NE9: The Fruit & The Seed”the “Blank Canvas” welcomes the artists Saskia D’Aguilar and Alex Timchula.
L-R: Alex Timchula, Blank Canvas host, Amanda Coulson (NAGB director) and Saskia D’Aguilar.
Both artists have created sculptural objects—using very different media—that speak both literally and metaphorically to the influx of non-native species and the issues of both crossing borders, transplantation, and belonging. Timchula, and American artist, who has been coming to The Bahamas for over 50 years and who lives and works between the two spaces, created a massive sculptural object for the NAGB’s burgeoning sculpture garden, which is populated by plants both native and non-native which are encouraged to grow together into an object of beauty and inspiration.
Saskia D’Aguilar—probably better known as the founder and director of the D’Aguilar Art Foundation and wife of Minister of Tourism, Dionisio D’Aguilar—speaks of her lifelong passion for the arts and how she blossomed into a practising artist over the years. Born in Switzerland to Dutch parents, but with her childood spent in Taiwan and Singapore, she often crossed borders and lived in places that—by her nationality alone—were not her “home.” In her piece she observes how seeds and plants can move freely, crossing oceans and borders, and are often welcomed and considered “ native” (such as the beautiful Poinciana trees, which come form Madagascar) when, in fact, they are invasive
The “Blank Canvas” airs weekly on Wednesdays 6:30 p.m. on 96.9 FM Guardian talk Radio.
