Author: lisa

Popop’s resident ceramicist and textile artist, Katrina Cartwright was firing elements of her Transforming Spaces project, along with some of the tiles she is preparing for the Popop kitchen.

Transforming Spaces Tickets are $30 and are now on sale at The National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (328-5800/1) and Doongalik Studios Art Gallery on Village Road (394-1886).

This year Transforming Spaces is focused around a single central theme – “Fibre” – in order to explore art made out of native materials. With eight art spaces displaying work by over 50 artists, viewers can expect to see a range of innovative contemporary Bahamian artwork.

For the Transforming Spaces Fibre theme Richardo Barrett is designing and creating light fixtures using onion skin. “The concept and design of my intended pieces could be manifested through various elements, like coconut bark or dried banana leaves, but onion skin stood out to me.”

Angelique Nixon, a literary artist, has been working at Popopstudios on her “Fibre” project for Transforming Spaces 2012. Angelique uses poetry, collage, photographs, Androsia fabric, straw, cotton, sand, and plant materials to express childhood stories and connection to the Bahamian land/seascape, as she creates a visual myth memoir of homeplace.

Popop-based artist Phoebe Luk has chosen silk cotton. Techniques used in her project include silk screen printing and spinning raw cotton (from an actual silk cotton tree) with a handmade spindle.

Popop-based artist Margot Bethel’s concept for the Transforming Spaces, “Fibre” theme centers around the use of seeds and other organic elements found in plants.

Through her artwork for Transforming Spaces 2012, Katrina hopes to convey the message that even though throughout history skin colour has bred varying levels of racism, women – whether white or black – have always conformed to society’s view of their role, no matter how restrictive that role may be.

The installation by Jeffrey Meris has been selected to fill the prominent center space at the National Art Gallery of the Bahamas. Jeffrey describes his concept for Transforming Spaces 2012: “As it relates to Transforming Spaces: Fibre, I plan on investigating cotton in the historical sense of it being a catalyst for New World slavery and Afro-Caribbean population…”

Popopstudios-based textile artist and quilt-maker, Jan Elliott is creating a 24″ x 24″ square piece for the Transforming Spaces 2012 theme – Fibre. As her work develops in progress shots will be posted.