Keeping or letting go

The exhibition, according to Medulla Art Gallery’s co-director, Michael Mouttet, “is an observation of this type of process, an artistic and personal process whereby the artist’s personality is deeply entrenched in a back and forth emotion, negotiating the parameters of how much or what to let go and what to keep.”

The exhibition which opened on March 23 will come to a close on May 11. It features four female artists, Mouttet said, who were familiar with each other’s work. Mouttet said the exhibition’s genesis also sought to pay homage to, “established artists such as Anna Serrao, Wendy Nanan, Irenee Shaw, Abigail Hadeed and Susan Dayal, as the inspiration for contemporary artistic expression.” Michele Isava, Alicia Milne, Jaime Lee Loy, and Nadia Huggins are the exhibiting artists. The 18 pieces on display come in paintings, sculpture and photographs, including video presentations and multi-media installations. All of these artists, he said, have been featured in both Caribbean and international publications and residencies.Mouttet said the exhibition was produced by artists, “who have been active in producing work that is conceptually independent of traditional forms and distinctively personal.” He said while the exhibited works were chosen with the group in mind, it also represented the artists’ individual and personal investigations.

Each artist was personal in their expression, from Milne’s observations of a post-colonial Trinidad privileges; Huggins’ look into her personal identity; Isava’s interest in the female body and nature; or Lee Loy’s practice of art therapy in confronting past trauma. He highlighted that, “each work displayed is deeply personal to each artist and tells stories that are not only important to their personal interests or struggles, but that have the power and accessibility to transcend and to connect to larger audiences. These artists came together to speak of the process of letting go yet still holding on to, whether it be notions of sexual identity, national identity or traumatic memories, it allows for transformation through an honest process of expression...,” he said. When asked about the exhibition’s title, Mouttet said, it came from artist Lee Loy, who mentioned she read a story called What we Save by Julie Orringer and the exhibition’s title was a development of that. Orringer’s story told of a woman nearing the end of her life who lets go of a lifelong secret relationship. Simultaneously, her daughter entered adolescence and grapples with not just the loss of her mother, but the loss of her former innocence after she is sexually assaulted by a young boy.

Mouttet had originally suggested Against the Grain but the artists found it defensive. But of equal important to the message/s being sent, Mouttet said, was that the work of these artists was an investment in private and corporate collections. He added that, “too often Trinidad and Tobago’s contemporary artists find recognition outside of Trinidad and Tobago and, because of their ‘non-traditional’ expression, are ignored locally.”