All posts by Natalie Willis

Utopian Ecologies: Alex Timchula’s microcosmic garden sculpture for the NE9

2 January 2019

By Natalie Willis. The 9th National Exhibition, “NE9: The Fruit and the Seed”, opened on December 13th, 2018, and the reception was quite honestly overwhelming in the abundance of bodies, spirits and minds present. As we approach this penultimate exhibition on the way to the 10th National Exhibition, this particular biennial’s harvest has been ripe with unabashed representations of self, social critique, and calls for action – all of which bear hopeful tidings for its next, landmark iteration of this key survey in checking the pulse of art in The Bahamas. Part garden, part spaceship, part act of love and care, Alex Timchula’s contribution to the NE9 is a living, growing representation of a utopian dream.

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Speaking to views and gazes in the work of Eric Rose: Education, Space and Knowing your Place

1 January 2019

By Dr Ian Bethell-Bennett, University of The Bahamas.

My eyes may be dim, but I can see

Though sight be mitigated by supervision,

My view is my experience

I shall not be moved

 Art provides an interior image of exteriorised feelings that are usually not openly discussed.  The interior/exterior reality of images and experiences is often surreal as it collapses spaces into times that are not always compatible.  Art allows whimsical flights of fantasy and fancy, which break down barriers and create potential changes that defy limitations. Photography, at the same time, opens eyes to what is often overlooked, while also capturing an image of something in a unique way that renders it more or less than it is.  

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Returning the Gaze: Melissa Alcena’s work for the NE9 seeks to challenge the gaze on the Black Bahamian body

31 December 2018

By Kevanté A. C. Cash. Melissa Alcena’s work is not for the faint of heart. It is not for those of whom dismiss the work of introspection. It causes a discomfort in self; challenges interior and personal spaces and the world around it, especially if that self exists as a Black body traversing through a “post-colonial” society.  As one of the 38 artists supported by the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) in the Ninth National Exhibition (NE9), “The Fruit and The Seed” Alcena’s work delivered nothing short of expectation. Her interpretation of the exhibition’s thematic manifested as works seeking to return the gaze and dispel the notion of “othering”, because truly, what is a “them”? What is a “they” if we are all experiencing the same aftermath outside of British colonial ruling? “Is the island not 21 x 7 miles even though the archipelago far flung? Why do we act as if we are so far apart?” With her biting and intimate suite of images, Alcena poses these questions.  

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All the Small Things: Jordanna Kelly and the Process of Creation

11 December 2018

By Letitia M. Pratt

The D’Aguilar Art Foundation

 

Fantasy writer J.K. Rowling, author of the famous, lore intensive Harry Potter series, once shared that she meticulously created the imaginative world of Harry Potter in a sequence of hand-drawn tables holding character and plot information. To accomplish a creative feat with the calibre of those novels – or other epic works like Tolkien is the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and Cassandra Clare’s The Mortal Instruments – an author like Rowling must plan out her world intensely.  The process of building, planning, and organising this world for the reader to get lost in is the true artistry of novel writing and is a skill that is useful across genres – literary and otherwise – that encourage the viewer to get lost in the process of consumption. Therefore, the artist and fantasy writer, I argue, have a lot in common, especially if the artist aims to create a new world for the viewer to experience. This is true for Jordanna Kelly, whose love for the process is unique among the things she enjoys about creating her work. In fact, Kelly and J.K. Rowling share more things in common that one would expect…Hear me out.

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Danny Davis brings a colonial interpretation to NE9’s “The Fruit and The Seed.”

10 December 2018

By Kevanté A. C. Cash, NAGB Correspondent. In conversation with the National Exhibition 9 Artist-in-Residence Danny Davis about his work for the upcoming Ninth National Exhibition. The Ninth National Exhibition (NE9), under the patronage of the Hon. Lanisha Rolle, Minister of Youth, Sports and Culture, is scheduled to open on Thursday, December 13th, 2018 at the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) beginning at 6:00 pm. The NAGB will support the work of 38 artists under its theme “The Fruit and The Seed”. One of the artists being Danny Davis, the NE9 artist-in-residence which is supported in partnership with The Current Gallery and Art Studios. Davis is a lecturer at the University of The Bahamas, a chemist turn woodworker, an unorthodox match to say the least. He has lived between Nassau and Freeport for most of his creative career and has been able to draw inspiration for his work from both islands. I sat with him to engage in a rather exciting discourse about his interpretation of NE9’s theme, and how it will be shown through his piece.

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Denis Knight: An Incredible Journey (1926-2018)

4 December 2018

 By Katrina Cartwright. Celebrating the life of the grandfather of ceramics in The Bahamas. In a small pottery studio, a little off the beaten path in Petty’s, Long Island, a teacher patiently instructs his student on the appropriate techniques to use to complete the ceramic piece she is working on. They are discussing the student’s pending college application and what she is choosing to study. He suggests “Why don’t you study ceramics? It’s something you seem to enjoy and you have a knack for it.” The student scoffs at the idea–what kind of job could one possibly get with a degree in ceramics? The instructor doesn’t push, only encourages the student to think about it, and they go on to discuss other ideas in the peaceful quiet, broken only by the occasional bird call or rustle of leaves. 

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Big Yard, Big Heart, Big Art: The NAGB Inter-Island Traveling Exhibition in North and Central Andros!

3 December 2018

By Natalie Willis. Oh my Andros! Da Big Yard, the wild and wonderful island full of love vine, graceful-yet-sinister buzzards, and full to the brim with people showing spirit as big as they come and then some. This October, the NAGB extended itself into the open arms of this vast island (by our standards anyway!). The Inter-Island Travelling Exhibition (ITE) is a cause near and dear to our hearts here at the NAGB, and for one very simple reason: the “N” in the NAGB stands for National, not Nassau. And with this in mind, the National Collection should follow this same line of thinking. Most recently, the current iteration of the ITE, “TRANS: A Migration of Identity”, made its way to the most gracious and welcoming of hosts in Central Andros at Brigadiers Restaurant in Davis Creek. Workshops, the construction of a mural, exhibition installation, and personal visits to schools all took place over a hectic fortnight, but as always the work we do to bring art to you is the most important. Who needs sleep right?  

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The NAGB brings variety to the holidays: The holidays are for friends, family and art!

29 November 2018

By Katrina Cartwright. The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas is bringing a busy 2018 to a close with an amazing line up of activities and events that will appeal to holiday recreation seekers of all ages. Beginning on December 7th with a free live Willis and The Illest concert and ending with musical sweetness of Jazz Etc. on December 21st, the NAGB is giving residents and visitors alike a selection of options to engage and access the museum in ways that are comfortable and interesting to them.

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