Dunnecia Daniella works with a purpose

Describing herself as a freelance visual artist, Dunnecia was fortunate to tap into her artistic talents during her childhood.

As an artist, she describes herself as experimental, and says she mixes her techniques and styles even when working on one art piece, such as reality versus fantasy, to come up with a _ nished product that is fresh. “My overall goal with every piece is to deliver a story that causes anyone that observes it to either relate to the story in some way or at least feel the emotions behind it,” she says of what she hopes her art conveys.

As a youngster, she felt a need to create “something, anything at all”. “I never really acted upon the feeling until one day, around Christmas time, I was watching television and decided to draw one of my favourite characters, the Grinch,” she remembers the exact moment her artistic traits took root. Encouraged by her mother and nurtured by her father, a former art student himself, Dunnecia’s talent was quickly revealed.

“Although it seemed as though I had inherited my father’s artistic abilities, it was through countless hours of personal research, entering art competitions, and having different interactions with other artists, coupled with the formal teaching I received from my secondary school art teachers, that I was able to become the artist I am today,” she says of the dedication that has gone into honing her craft.

While in school, Dunnecia did not neglect her other studies, and completed her CAPE examinations in 2016 with distinctions in Art and MOD, Grade 1s in Communications and Caribbean Studies, and a Grade 2 in Sociology. She was also awarded the Republic Bank Limited Award for Excellence in Management of Business. “However, since discovering my talent and the possibilities that come along with it once developed properly, my passion for the arts has grown exponentially,” she reveals, adding that presently her artistic specialty is portraiture as certain qualities of facial structures has always intrigued her. “Observing a person’s facial features tells me multiple stories and that is a quality I must say excites and challenges me all at the same time,” she describes her fascination with portraiture, which also allows her to use her artistic abilities to interpret such stories through her creations. “It has not only opened a whole new world of opportunities for me but it has also given my life purpose.” And Dunnecia has created work with purpose; her most recent being the German Embassy’s Buddy Bear, a bear whose story dates back to 2001 when it was _ rst conceptualised off the heels of an art event in Berlin which showcased the idea of a street art festival, the brainchild of Klaus and Eva Herlitz. For this street art project, it was decided that a bear would be the perfect sculpture as it is the heraldic animal of Berlin.

Dunnecia tells that two Masters students from Berlin University created the _ rst Buddy Bear, and Anne and Roman Strobel, friends of the Herlitzes, designed its sibling bears. “A few years later, the Buddy Bear was ready for its official public debut in Berlin,” she continues, highlighting that after the _ rst bears appeared on the streets of Berlin more than 100 bears were created and displayed at different locations. The project’s success was due to the various designers and artists who gave each individual bear a unique identity, which allowed the bears to expand beyond the city of Berlin, or the country of Germany. “Overall, the concept behind each bear, which is placed in a country that is acknowledged by the United Nations, is to promote tolerance and international understanding; always standing together hand-in-hand,” Dunnecia says.

She _ rst came about the news for the German Embassy’s Buddy Bear design competition through an aunt, and upon learning more of what the Bear represents, she developed her design and delivered it to the embassy. After two months, she was officially informed of her win. The design competition was not only held locally but internationally, which gives her a great sense of pride to be chosen to represent TT. The embassy presented her with her contract to paint the bear and supplied her with all materials needed. The bear, at two meters tall, was at first daunting to the young artist as it is a much larger scale than she is accustomed to working with, as well as presented a 360-degree design – another first for her.

In her design, Dunnecia conveys what the Buddy Bear stands for: promoting tolerance and international understanding, representations she believes the world desperately needs. “Additionally, when an artist is given the opportunity to showcase the bond between the two countries through a design, that amplifies the message even further.” Her design expanded on the sculpture’s representation, as well as promotes other intents such as peace, solidarity, harmony, and the love and respect of varying cultures and our environment. On June 7 the bear was unveiled at the embassy. Dunnecia was overjoyed and excited for the bear to become a conduit between TT and German histories.

While her artistic expression has been allowed to flourish, Dunnecia feels that more must be done in TT for the appreciation and protection of artists. She believes that through an expansion of Art scholarship programmes, as well as the enforcement of certain laws such as copyright and physical protection laws for environmental art pieces, artists can feel the love and also feel protected and inspired to create safely.

“The arts have been instrumental to the make up of woman herself, since the beginning of time,” she says of the infiltrative ways artistic expression seeps into everyday existence. “Everything we see, hear, touch, and smell started merely as an idea in someone’s head.”

She also dislikes the term “starving artist” as she says it creates unfair bias against artistic people. She thinks the perpetuation of such misconceptions about artists diminishes true appreciation for art in its many shades and variations, as some may view artistic careers or abilities as unworthy because of the stereotype of artists being financially shaky. She hopes her own work will help “crush the term and coin a more positive reference that would encourage artists young and old to resist oppressive societal norms and demand adequate monetary keep for their creations.”

While her career has only just begun, Dunnecia says she has had the honour of being asked for advice from younger artists on her techniques and processes. She says, “I would like to encourage other artists to continue to create and grow if they truly believe it is their passion, and always pass on some wisdom when given the chance.”

Check out Dunnecia’s art on Instagram (@ dunnecia_moore_art) or on Facebook (Dunnecia Moore Visual Artist).