|
My relationship between art and life is very intense. It is the process of living and creating that moves me. I approach my sculptures and paintings with the intent of having fun, splashing, scraping, pushing, pulling, dripping, wiping and carving my way into a state of animation. Intuition and my visual sensibilities click in; then the dialogue begins.
Crossing all boundaries, I respond to the revelation of suggestive forms and images, as they emerge.
Wood sculpture is new to me and I am enjoying "the sculptor's experience".
The wood that I use to sculpt is recycled from piles of indigenous trees, randomly cut down, or bulldozed to create space for the construction of concrete castles and tourist resorts.
As my ancestors believe that "the tree is regarded as the home of a spirit which needs to be placated ..." I feel driven to explore this aspect of my African heritage, in hopes of understanding more about my place in this universe.
Antonius Roberts - Ref. African Art, An Introduction. Revised edition by Frank Willett.
Making the Connection
As a boy growing up in fox hill (Johnson Road), I feared passing neighbors' yards with "the bottle" hanging in their fruit trees. Upon questioning the significance of this (bottle in the tree), I was told the following:
"Don't you dare enter that yard because the obeah man/woman lives there ..."
"... pick or eat the fruit of that tree with the bottle in it and you will die!"
"If you try and climb that tree you will never come down again!"
I find this experience as real today as it was in my youth, and I accept this as part of my heritage, part of my growing up, learning to respect and fear the ways of my ancestors.
"Bottle in the tree" ... bottle, "bo"
hanging from a fruit tree symbolizes a guard.
This along with other rituals stem from "vodun"
Vodun- translated generally as god, sacra, sacred or priestly is of west African roots. "Vodun designates that which is mysterious for everyone, independent of the moment or the time ..." Vodun identifies the great mysteries in life.
It is from this platform I jump into this body of work, trying to make the connections between past and present while learning about the mysteries of life.
As I push, pull, scrape, and carve my way along a creative journey, I follow the pathways laid down by many who have gone before. It is my intention however to embrace all that is revealed to me along the way and use it to expand my horizons.
For me, the use of wood, lime stone, cloth and paint is my way of making the connections between past and present, life and death, real and unreal, the mysterious forces of life.
Antonius Roberts
| 