Self Discovery - Deanio X

Deanio X recently presented his exhibition ’Leaving the Womb’ at Something Gallery at 52 Honor Oak Park London,which will run for a month from the 23rd of June. He will be displaying some of the pieces he has been working on over the past few years, ranging from small pieces to larger canvases. Deanio X is an artist that stands alone when it comes to comparison, you get a feeling that his mission in the world of art is far greater than him, we will undoubtedly continue to follow his journey towards complete self-discovery.

In a public showcase of the connection between his art and this story, a mural/ art piece was created in Lordship Lane, Dulwich by himself and his brother Nathan Bowen, a renowned London street artist. This piece included messages such as “Support Calais Jungle” and “refugees are welcome”. Unfortunately, shortly after those messages where defaced by an unknown individual whom evidently did not agree with the empathetic messages. A clear example of the struggle Deanio X has faced while bringing truth to the light through the vessel of art.

“people situated there (Calais refugees) were unprotected by law and had to determine their own routes to a secure life. For a refugee then, institutions that should represent the vanguard of ordered society i.e. the government and police, were synonymous with the danger instead of support. Contrasts of black, white and silver allude to the negative space, an understanding of the refugee camp as a kind of limbo or purgatory where migrants either persevere or perish in the pursuit of asylum”.

Deanio X in reference to this crisis in relation to his work stated –

The Calais France Refugee crisis is a great inspiration for Deanio X to create his work in recent times. The Calais Jungle was a refugee and migrant encampment in the vicinity of Calais, France. This camp is a close-to-home example of the ongoing situation of Migrants around Calais, who attempt to enter the United Kingdom. Refugees still travel on lorries, cars and trains to get to the United Kingdom. These individuals lived in less than satisfactory conditions with scarce medical care and good quality water. These individuals are represented in Deanio X’s work through the constant motif of repeated cartoon like characters with supposedly ‘African’ features.

His willingness to express political and controversial themes in his work have not come without constraints within the art world. As Deanio X expresses truth through his work, some may not be willing to accept such. He has experienced exclusion from some exhibition and installations due to the themes of his work. In an attempt to raise awareness of the Refugee Crisis in Calais France, he was turned down by a gallery, subsequently feeling as though it was a disingenuous attempt to quieten the voice of his art, citing Institutional racism as the cause, something that affects Africans across the globe.

What is it that makes you who you are? Is it your complexion? Your experiences? Your political or social views? Or a combination of them all. Identity is a complex matter, a fact or affinity that usually pushes individuals into a box or a sense of belonging. Now imagine not having that sense of identity and searching for your place within this spherical combination of atoms we call earth. This is something that Deanio X, A South London native with Afro-Caribbean descent, aims to seek answers to through his work.

His work is far from romantic and seductive as he tells the story of him and his people. His work can be described by some as chilling and introspective, this can be deciphered due to his choice of colour and contrasting techniques in his work. Deanio X’s work is bespoke to say the least, his use of grey, black and while also add to the messaging of his work, Telling the truth of his lineage though art, the dark and sometimes incomprehensible truth, some may say his use of grey may be a symbolic method of depicting the nuances in such heavy topics.

As a well-travelled individual, who has had the privilege of experiencing cultures in 5 different continents, Deanio X’s journey through self-discovery has been extensive and well researched. The diverse perspectives of the people he has come across have provided an overflowing palate of culture and understanding that is therefore translated to the paper canvases, canvases on which he creates his surrealist and symbolic imagery. As an individual consistently examining his heritage and the path that lead him to his present state with regards to his complexion, experiences, political and social views.

Some of his work looks as though they were passed through an image editing software and highly saturated. This is interesting because the definition of the word saturation is ‘transformation to a very full extent, especially beyond the point regarded as necessary or desirable’. This could be a symbolic way of explaining Deanio X’s process of symbolising what past generations have been trying to do to the African Diaspora for centuries, saturating them from their understanding of their culture, history, and humble beginnings. Deanio X paints upon the aspects of ourselves and our societies that we cover up. The Primal side of us that we try to suppress, the fear that we pretend isn’t there.

Deanio X is not your average art student that grew up on the technicalities and history of art and design, although he would have liked to gain some of that experience to add to his repertoire at that time. During his time in higher education he studied History and Literature, subjects that have helped to develop the sensitivities necessary to carry out the profession he later chose. Deanio X identified the anguish and the sacrifice interwoven into his being during his time as a History and Literature student. He also came to realise the smokescreen that has been blinding people in society for hundreds of years, the lies that were told by the powers that be to remove love and unity between people from the equation of our co-habitation. Deanio X’s art pays homage to the struggle and strife while putting the lies and propaganda to shame under the spotlight of his paintbrush.

One aspect of his work that is very intriguing is his use of pointillism, a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots are applied in patterns to form an image. This technique is highly skilled and supremely time consuming as every dot culminates into an image in which the viewer can comprehend. There may also be symbolism in the use of this technique also, in the sense that every little thing adds to who we are as human beings, therefore each dot is a representation of our history, within our time and even beyond us. This is a technique practiced by artists such as Maximillian Luce and Vincent Van Gogh, painters of whom usually painted with vibrant colours, further illustrating the difficulty of what Deanio X achieves in his work.