NUDITY is depicted in art pieces in galleries all around the world. And now this particular subject, which often attracts controversy in the art world, is coming to Nassau.

Next month, Antonius Roberts is sure to cause a stir when opens his new exhibition, entitled ‘The Naked Truth’, which will feature paintings and sculptures of naked women in various degrees of exposure.

Some people who see the pieces will be completely “turned off” by them, Mr Roberts told Tribune Art.

But he feels that this exhibition is something that has to be done in order to start a dialogue on pertinent issues in Bahamian’s minds.

Mr Roberts approaches his sculptures and paintings with the intent of having fun – splashing, scraping, pushing, pulling, dripping, wiping and carving his way into a state of animation.
Intuition and his visual sensibilities click in, then the dialogue begins.

One of the Bahamas’ most noted artists and sculptors, Mr Roberts said he is motivated by a personal philosophy that can be briefly described as ‘conservation, transformation and preservation’.

These words are well illustrated by his famous Sacred Space concept.

‘Sacred’ is a word he uses a lot and it is a word intended to reflect his spiritual inspiration, his own creative freedom of expression and his desire to inspire others to preserve those things that should be left intact to bear witness to their cultural heritage.

At a preview of his latest exhibition in a studio and gallery on Prospect Ridge, Tribune Art got to see that Mr Roberts is not tiptoeing around the issue of nudity in any way.

And he quickly explained his reasons for creating his nude art:

“If you go into the Sistine Chapel you will see Michaelangelo’s the ‘Creation of Man,’ the individual featured is nude. If you look at a lot of biblical images used in churches, many of them reflect nudity which is the essence of man.”

“I am intentionally not being specific or trying to be illustrative, because it is important for other people to add their voices,” said Mr Roberts.

“Where you are, whatever your experiences are, you should bring them with you when you see my work.”

When asked to break down his vision for the pieces, he declined.

“You interpret what you see. Each piece should be surveyed based on your experience and what you bring to the work.”

The whole idea is to have exhibits that will get the public’s attention and help them see art in a different light, he said.

“I try to make something interesting out of the things people discard.”

While all pieces show women doing different things in the nude, none of Mr Roberts’ paintings are erotic in nature.

Mr Roberts’ desire is to have the art experience become meaningful at every level, intellectually, aesthetically, emotionally and spiritually.

“I’ve used a lot of women in my work,” he said.

“This whole image of the perfect woman, or this essence of beauty is what sells and captures people’s attention.”

‘The Naked Truth’ exhibition will be on display in the lobby at the Central Bank of the Bahamas from January 11 to February 12, 2010.

And while there’s no official opening, Mr Roberts looks forward to the day the public will be able to view his latest work.

The exhibition seeks to touch on hot button issues in the community.

“Such issues are the marital rape law, capital punishment, gender identity and the position of the church in all of this,” Mr Roberts said.

He questions whether we as a people are comfortable talking about the state of affairs in our country and globally.

And this upcoming exhibition isn’t the first time he’s dealt with nudity.

“This body of work is not for sale, it is just my response and reaction to what is happening in the community today,” he said.

“As a citizen of the Bahamas, I’m just lending my voice to it, not making any judgment call.”

Mr Roberts said he doesn’t want to pass the blame on anybody. He promotes his works to continue the public dialogue so he can get to the core of how to debate these issues, and find a solution.

“Most of my exhibits are about making a social statement,” he said.

“All of us need to use whatever talents and/or resources that we have to deal with the concerns that are prevalent in our society today.”

The pieces of in ‘The Naked Truth’ exhibition will have individual titles and Mr Roberts expects people to also react to those.

“A lot of these things are happening behind closed doors and we are not talking about them,” he said.

Explained on of the paintings, which depicts a baptism, featuring a woman with her bare breast, the artist said:

“For me it was the whole image of an innocent young lady in an archway, that sort of mirrors the holy archways that you see in churches.”

Behind this woman there’s an older man holding a Bible, reading the Psalms. She’s standing within the space, and they’re both within close proximity.

“There’s a connection and dialogue that is happening here. That relationship and dialogue that is happening in society between older men and younger women.”

Mr Roberts said that because he as an “artist’s license”, he can take as many liberties as he likes to express through the brush and paint a unique vision about current issues that are not openly spoken of as often as they should be.

By REUBEN SHEARER
Tribune Features Reporter
December 30, 2009