Visual Artist - Averia Wright

VISUAL ARTIST

Averia Wright

By Yolanda Hanna Photographs courtesy of Averia Wright and Jackson Petit

Averia Wright is a Bahamian interdisciplinary artist with a bold, brilliant and unique perspective. Her art is unapologetic. It transfixes your eyes, captures your mind and diverts your every thought to focus on the mystifying displays that will lock you into a gaze.

Simply put, prepare yourself to be amazed, because you will stare, and stare, and stare, then you will begin to ask questions.

For instance, you may ask: Why did Averia choose to walk from Bain Town to Bay Street, dressed in an Androsia print body suit with a straw belt cinched around her waist and her face covered by a straw mask with a raffia beard?

Or you may ask: What is the symbolic meaning behind the Mixed Media Installation piece titled, “Elevating the Blue Light”? And how did she create bronzed-casted straw breastplates, using burlap, raffia and other textures?

Wright stirs up conversation, provokes questions and challenges the mind. Trust me, she’s just that good.

I had the privileged of diving into the mind of this fascinating artist, to learn what inspires her, what path did she travel to get where she is today, and would she do it all over again.

What inspires your art and where do you ‘draw’ your inspiration to create?

My inspiration is drawn from my family heritage. My mother, Carolyn Wright, my aunts and my grandmother are/were straw vendors; and my father is a contractor. They are all artists in their own right and my biggest inspiration.

You are an interdisciplinary artist. How do you use that art form to tell your stories?

As a child, I worked alongside my mother in the straw market and I learned every trick of the trade. But I had an issue with the way we transact with tourists, Giant Anenome

the way we make ourselves more palatable to guests with the way we speak and negotiate to make a sale. So, in my work, I choose to address that ambivalence I had and I try to reimagine authenticity versus stereotypes.

I noticed you use elements of Bahamian culture in your artwork like straw and Androsia. I thought that was fascinating! Is Bahamian culture the focus or theme in your work? And are you inspired by other cultures?

My work navigates all aspects of Bahamian life through the use of cultural material. I think it’s best when making commentary, social or otherwise, to use the medium

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of the space. It helps the viewer to pick up the cues and engages their own perspectives on those issues.

We are within the Afro-Caribbean region, so I may use materials that either consciously or subconsciously reflect the region and our African heritage

What led you to your decision to become a full-time professional artist?

In 2003, the National Art Gallery of The Bahamas (NAGB) opened, and it was so eye-opening for me, as a high school student at that time, that there was a place for art to live.

I attended The College of The Bahamas (now University of The Bahamas) after I graduated from high school, and all my art professors were professional, practicing artists whose work was shown in that space. That made me realize that art as a profession was an option. That’s when I decided that this was what I wanted.

However, I must mention that my practice as a curator started at the NAGB as well and I am currently the curatorial manager at The Current Baha Mar Gallery and Art Center.

That’s amazing! Were you full-time immediately after college or did you transition over a period of time?

Well, I started out as a part-time sales representative at Doongalik Studios Art Gallery in Marina Village because I really wanted to become a part of the Bahamian art community. Being employed there allowed me to work alongside artists and cultural ambassadors Jackson [Petit] and Pam Burnside and artist Toby Lunn. I volunteered at the NAGB and then I joined their curatorial team under Dr. Erica James.

I started out as a curatorial trainee and when I left the NAGB to get my master’s in sculpture and expanded practice, I was the assistant curator and registrar.

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You have had quite a journey. If you had to do it all again, would you do anything differently?

No, I wouldn’t change any part of my journey. When I came home with my bachelor’s degree from the University of Tampa, I had hoped to go back to get my master’s within one or two years. But spending the four years at NAGB allowed me to enrich my perspectives and develop my voice. These things are what built my portfolio to become the 2015 LCF Harry C. Moore scholar.

I have become increasingly aware of Bahamian female artists in the country; I like what I’m seeing. Are you aware of other female artists in The Bahamas?

Bahamian women artists are shining bright right now in The Bahamas and internationally. Artists like April Bey, Gio Swaby, Anina Major, Cydne Coleby are making their voices heard and doing great things.

I had the pleasure of curating the first Bahamian woman to show a mid-career survey exhibition in the full gallery at the National Art Gallery of Bahamas—“Kendra Frorup: The Whimsical Collector”, will be up for a few more months. You should check it out.

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Congratulations to Kendra; that’s a wonderful accomplishment! In your opinion, do you think the art community is disconnected or are we as a society simply not doing enough to support Bahamian art?

I don’t think the art community is disconnected. I believe the value our culture places on art is not as high as it should be. The galleries and institutions in The Bahamas are putting in the work, but if we as a society do not realize its value, then that’s where we are falling behind. Going to the gallery or the museum should be a normal occurrence just like going to the beach on a holiday.

If you had to create a piece of art to tell the story of your life, what materials would you use and what would you call it?

If I had an endless budget, I would work with bronze, straw, wood, stainless steel and aluminum for an outdoor sculpture installation. It would be called “You set your basket so high, you need two sticks to reach it” (smile).

I would purchase that sculpture (laughs). Tell me, if you could have dinner with anybody (artist or non-artist) living or dead, who would it be? And what dish would you cook?

I would have dinner with my mum. Yes, we have dinner together regularly, but I have gained most of my knowledge from her. She often thought I wasn’t listening to her when I was a child but I often drop her golden nuggets right back at her (laughs). I don’t cook often but I would probably cook chicken souse with Johnny bread. UA