A Certain Sign of Age Exhibition Catalogue by marshapearce

a certain sign of age An exhibition of work by the UWI DCFA alumni Curated by Marsha Pearce

a c e r t a i n s i g n o f a g e April 26-27, 2018 a certain sign of age is an exhibition conceived for the occasion of the Work/Life Balance and Ageing Symposium hosted by the Institute of Gender and Development Studies (IGDS) and the Social Work Unit at the Department of Behavioural Sciences, The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus. The exhibit features artwork by six graduates of UWI’s Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA).

a c e r t a i n s i g n o f a g e

Attitudes to ageing reflect a tension between reverence and trepidation. Notions of respect and wisdom are mixed with such negative associations as dependency and diminished productivity. These ideas surrounding debates on the subject are readily seen as having ties to the disciplinary perspectives of biology and sociology: “Age is not merely a biological function of the number of years one has lived, or of the physiological changes the body goes through during the life course. It is also a product of the social norms and expectations that apply to each stage of life” (Little and McGivern 2014). Yet, ageing is a nuanced phenomenon that invites multiple angles. How might a viewpoint from the arts aid in shaping a conversation? This invites exhibition takes it title from a Derek Walcott poem published in the 2016 book Morning, Paramin. In a statement that gives some insight to his frame of mind regarding his creative practice, the late Nobel Laureate shared: “My disenchantment with all adjectives is deepening, a certain sign of age”. The artworks, featured as part of the proceedings of the two-day symposium, problematise perceptions of ageing. What is a certain sign of age in a Trinidad and Tobago context? What form does it take? What meanings are attached to that sign?

Jaime Lee Loy’s installation titled How to Care for Your Arrangement was created specifically for this exhibition. It comprises local flowers that have undergone a dehydration process to capture them in varying states of transition. Lee Loy directs our attention to dual ideas of fragility and strength as brilliant hues commingle with faded, wilted forms. Her decision to present these blooms in the tradition of museum display formats reinforces questions about preservation, archiving, memory and knowledge transfer. Sarah Knights’ paintings Forever 21 and Missing Faces attend to her insecurities about the ageing process. The mask (covering/painting the face) and the mirror (self-reflection) are key motifs in these works. (covering/painting Naqiyah Assin’s photographs of derelict structures spotlight a pull between signs of disregard and a majesty found in scenes of decline. Vibert Medford’s digital piece Unknown Mysteries can be read as a picture of the thrilling enigma and unfolding revelations that characterise advancing years. Works in copper, textile and pigment by Adele Bynoe and Kathy Farabi demonstrate creative vigour in defiance of presumed frailty.

This exhibition brings together senior and young visual artists whose works speak to issues of productive capacity, potential, time, anxiety, self-identity, care versus neglect, dignity and beauty.

Alongside the visual display are written reflections by the artists, who consider a link between ageing and work-life balance. How are creative practitioners balancing life’s demands on their time and art-making as (un)paid work, at the particular phase of their lives?

Marsha Pearce, PhD Exhibition Curator & Visual Arts Lecturer, Department of Creative and Festival Arts, UWI St. Augustine Campus

Jaime Lee Loy

j a i m e l e e l o y

The subject of ageing has always been of interest to me. After losing my father and other relatives at a young age, and after suffering from a series of illnesses in my early adult life, I became keenly aware of the fragility and impermanence of life. I began to value time and experiences, with the knowledge that time is limited. At one point, I was a single mom and despite the challenges of time and money, I made a commitment to pursue my creative endeavours seriously as a career and passion, with the full understanding that I would have to work at several jobs at once, finding a way to balance the creative self and the need to make a living in a society that does not often value creative work, and even more so, a space that views living creative work as a free asset. Creatives, especially, are often asked for their work at no cost, which poses a constant challenge.

Ageing is a tremendous factor as age brings with it the need for more financial stability – especially for parents and for those living on their own, having to afford rent or mortgages and look towards the future. As we get older we often have less agility. At the age of 37, gone are the days I could function on little to no sleep, and as our commitments to children, spouses and making a living grow, there is less time to spare. During the period of my illness, which began when I was a single mother, I would lose hours of productivity each day, and I even had doctors who joked that parts of me functioned like a person in their 60’s. The fear of not being useful, productive, capable of intense work, became very tangible for me. As time passed, I had to lean productive, on my current husband and daughter more for support – sometimes to complete simple tasks. The fear of losing one of the things I love most: my art practice, became more real.

HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR ARRANGEMENT is a phrase from a flower tag I once received from a flower shop. It had instructions on how to care for the bouquet of flowers to which it was attached. I often work with live flowers and have done so since 2007 to represent impermanence and fragility. Past work include live flowers that would slowly decay or dry as part of ephemeral installations. For this new project I am trying to capture a moment of transition;; to freeze a moment in time. I have collected local flowers that are usually considered seasonal or fragile. Poui especially is considered a flower that is only here for a short time.

I gathered these flowers in different environments and under different conditions. I sought to collect them already in a state of decay – some with mould or brown spots, or drying edges. The different conditions and environments created different effects. Rather than simply taking a photograph of the flower to capture that moment I used a dehydration technique that would preserve the colours of the flower at the point of transition or ageing that I chose. In doing so, the flower would not ever wither completely or lose the colour it had when I decided to “freeze” the moment. I then collected them as if they were specimens to be preserved in a museum – artefacts almost, pinning them to informational boards, and labelling them scientifically. It is a artefacts process of observing, an attempt to take a close look at a moment of change and appreciate it for its mixture of perceived beauty and ugliness;; to accept it for what it is, and to essentially care for it at that moment in time.

Jaime Lee Loy How to Care for Your Arrangement

k a t h y f a r a b i

For me, work and life were balanced fairly well, at least in the early years. For most of my working life I was a Primary School teacher. Very conveniently, my three children attended the same school at which I was working, so the issues of transport and spending time with them were not a problem.

When I was 49 years old, however, things changed. At the prompting of people who believed in When my creative abilities, I applied to do a part-time Visual Arts Degree programme at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and my application was accepted. This was something I never thought I would ever get the opportunity to do since the desire to become an ‘Artist’ was usurped by the need to make a living. As a teacher, I only used art for making charts and displays in the classroom. In this sense, work commitments kept me from pursuing my dream to study art and in time, the dream was forgotten. Thus, I was thrilled to attempt the degree programme. It was then that balancing life and my own desires became a little more complicated. I was still then working and the classes were in the evenings. My husband was away a lot and my last child was in his Common Entrance year. 1 He usually came with me to UWI in the evenings or went to extra lessons or to spend time with a friend. I wonder if I did neglect him during that time. I tried not to. However, things did work out in the end and all three of my children eventually obtained at least their first degree and are now working.

At the age of 54, I qualified for my degree with First Class Honours. Perhaps I was more serious about my studies, because I was older. I became a member of “Canvas Caribbean” a group of UWI Arts Graduates, so I was encouraged to continue painting and exhibiting my work. By the time I was 64, I knew I was ready to retire and now with no responsibilities or children to worry about, I am able to paint whenever I wish to.

_______________________ 1. Common Entrance was a government exam used to facilitate the placement of students in Secondary/high 1. schools in Trinidad and Tobago. In 2001, the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) replaced Common Entrance.

I am now on the verge of 70 years and mentally I do not feel old. I think my brain is as alert as ever, although physically I am beginning to have some aches and pains. I think being old is a matter of attitude. I have recently joined a group of elderly people in St. Augustine called “Secon’ Spring”. There we do exercises and creative classes and I have made many new friends. I may be ageing, but I now have the time and still have the energy to learn many new things and create new ambitions.

I do have one regret. I think it should be thoroughly instilled in every working girl and woman that she should independently save for her own retirement and not rely on anyone else. Anything can happen in life and often does. I was given a gratuity every year for this purpose, but my husband and I spent it on travelling. I do not regret the travelling – we had a good time – but when the unforeseen happened we were both left depending on our NIS (social security pension) and a very kind, working daughter. By the time I realised what was happening I was too old to do anything about it. I am constantly reminding my children to invest for their future, but they are young and fancy-free and just as I did, they think old age is a long way away. but they are young and fancy-free and just as I did, they think old age is a long way awa

Kathy Farabi Pan Vibrations

Kathy Farabi White Orchids

s a r a h k n i g h t s

Time is essential to art not only in the creation of an artwork but also in the development of one’s own personal style and technique. Time allows for change and growth. The masters throughout history had one thing in common: they mastered their art by spending long hours doing what they loved. William Turner committed himself to painting landscapes throughout Europe for most of his adult life. The great Michael Jackson spoke about spending countless hours to arrive at proficiency. Kanye West credits his success to approaching time in a different way, no longer working for people but coming to a point where he spends all of his time perfecting his craft.

My reality however, at the age of 35, is that I am torn between my job and my studio. Balancing a job while trying to be creative is challenging for me. My time and energy are spent in the early half of the day working to obtain a monthly salary while, in the remaining hours, I do my best to create. It is extremely difficult! I remember one of my former lecturers encouraging me to continue working. He explained that one could constantly be creative regardless of one’s environment. Sometimes, being creative means simply scribbling in a journal. His reassuring words made a bit of a difference in how I view and use my time at work or when I arrive at home too exhausted to paint. My husband rightly points out that consistency is the key. It is more too important to make an effort each day to spend at least one or two hours painting, drawing, looking at artworks, films, documentaries, music videos or anything that inspires me to create.

Creating freely without the constraints of time is still very burdensome for me. Yet I have managed to create art pieces with little time. Going a week without painting is very rare. Most times I am able to get art done almost every day of the week. It means, however, that I sacrifice going out, doing house chores and sometimes meeting with friends and family. I am often extremely tired but I am learning to discipline myself within the limits of time.

Sarah Knights Missing Faces

Sarah Knights Forever 21

v i b e r t m e d f o r d

I am 66 years old and I am happy. I am in good spirits and spend my time doing what I love to do, whether it is creating through still photography or filmmaking. I had no problem adjusting to retirement as I am doing what I did before I retired from the University of The West Indies. By that I mean I now do what I did on mornings before going to work, on evenings after work and on weekends. I have more time to pursue my interests, to think, to experiment, to stay at home and do nothing when I wish to do nothing.

Do I work? Well, yes I do. I work for myself and my work is play. Yet I do serious play. Play Do which takes thought, planning and some expense. I am fortunate. I am constantly engaged in creating visual art in some form or another and exhibit regularly with some fellow artists. I recently added to my skills, those of a videographer, and in the past two years, I have produced a number of short videos of steelband performances and documentaries of a youth steel and brass orchestra. One of my short video documentaries was an official selection of the Trinidad & Tobago Film Festival in 2017. I was overjoyed at having one of my films featured at such an event.

When I attained the designation of “Senior Citizen,” I laughed – a senior citizen at age 60. What is that? Most of my friends are now “Senior Citizens” and we are not old by any means. We look good;; at least people tell us so.

My artwork, featured in this exhibition, is titled “Unknown Mysteries” It is a digital piece and is a result of extensive experimentation with various computer software and a commitment to pushing the boundaries about what I know and can do with digital technology. It is part of a larger personal project that I call my “Fantasy Art” series. In a sense, this picture can represent the unknown of ageing: somewhat mysterious, somewhat a process of discovery that is intriguing.

I am having fun and that is what it is all about.

Vibert Medford Unknown Mysteries

n a q i y a h a s s i n

What does the world look like for a Visual Arts graduate? What are the possibilities? Having recently graduated from the University of the West Indies with a B.A in Visual Arts, I find myself asking the latter question quite often. My goal, which I am still working towards, is to become an art teacher at the secondary school level. It is the profession I have always envisioned for myself. However, until the applications are processed, another means of earning income must be sought. This unfortunately, is very difficult, not just in the field of visual arts but generally, in Trinidad and Tobago, as a new graduate. My first step towards adulthood after school was being employed as a graphic designer for a month. However, after that month it was difficult to being get another job and I am currently unemployed. Since I am no longer a student and currently searching for paid work, I have a lot of time which I devote to my creative practice, finding ways to earn income – mostly doing crafts and card making. I am 22 years old and I fear that as I get older I may have to search for a steady job outside of the domain of art. There are very limited options and I cannot rely solely on the Ministry of Education for a teaching position because of the time the application processing takes. There must be another plan that brings in a steady income and I cannot see it having any relation to visual arts. I feel as though whatever income income may be earned from the field of art would be via art as a side job or peripheral practice rather than the main source of income.

Naqiyah Â Assin Untitled

a d e l e b y n o e

I eh ole. I do not consider myself old at the age of sixty seven. I am at the stage in my life where I can do whatever I want. Art has always been one of my interests and now it has developed into my full-time career. I paint, I do fabric design, I sing with the Lydians and UWI Arts Chorale, I play parang with Los Cantantes Festivos and I teach dance classes for special needs children ages 7 to 16 at New Beginnings Educational Centre. I am an entrepreneur as I recently opened my own art studio in San Fernando. I am also the current president of Canvas Caribbean – a collective of visual arts graduates of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus. All of these activities keep my brain going and allow me the opportunity to interact with people. All Balance with family life? Well, I have three dogs, five birds and two nephews who support and encourage me to participate in the many ways I have described here. Recently, I started swimming, Latin dance and preparing for a trip to Colombia. I have a full social calendar. As a creative person I have learned the art of juggling these activities, as they play an important part in my well-being.

Adele Bynoe Batimamselle Copper Brooch

Adele Bynoe Hand-painted Scarf

Adele Bynoe Copper Brooches

s p e c i a l t h a n k s Jessel Murray, Head, Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA) Keith Cadette, Visual Arts Unit Coordinator, DCFA Alex Kelly, Adjunct Lecturer Tevin Charles, Student Ariel Francis, Student Roberto Goindoo, Student

Department of Creative and Festival Arts The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus sta.uwi.edu/fhe/dcfa