- CONTRIBUTED
'Olympia' by artist Oneika Russell.
Jonathan Greenland, Contributor
ONEIKA RUSSELL is a Jamaican artist living and working in Kingston.
Her piece, 'Portrait of Dorian Gray Series', is one of the works showing in the 'Curator's Eye II'exhibition at the National Gallery of Jamaica in downtown Kingston.
Here, she discusses her work with Dr. Jonathan Greenland, executive director of the National Gallery of Jamaica.
J.G.: Describe one of your pieces in the exhibition.
O.R.: 'The Portrait of Dorian Gray Series' came from working in the education department of the National Gallery of Jamaica.
Working in the research library there brings you into contact with a lot of different resources, specifically, in this case, with a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) guide on The Art of Central Africa.
It was a really old book, but what captivated me was these really beautiful African masks and the photography was
beautiful too.
The masks were all sitting on pedestals but the pedestals were invisible. That's how we're supposed to understand these images - as standing on pedestals.
J.G.: You mean decontextualised, removed from their original social context as ritual objects?
O.R.: Yes, I was thinking of putting them back into their culture, making them less objects and embodying the spirit of the people of Central Africa, to whom, I suppose, I have a connection.
J.G.: 'Suppose'?
OR: Historically, we are West African and West Africa is very different from Central Africa. So I mean Africa as a whole. As an artist in Jamaica we are supposed to feel this immediate, intimate link to Africa. This is something I am learning to do: thinking of 'us' as being connected. For the masks, I painted bodies in as a simple pictorial device to make them seem more like persons and less like objects.
J.G.: What about the title? The Portrait of Dorian Gray is a classic story written by Oscar Wilde. The story of a man who has a portrait of himself and while the portrait reveals how old and depraved the man has become, the man himself remains magically young and beautiful to look at.
O.R.: Since I read that story, I wanted to make a work of art out of it. These works represented the opportunity. I like the idea of having an image of oneself that you didn't necessarily find appealing. I wanted to present to a Jamaican audience the image of a person that might be yourself.
J.G.: The portrait in the story reveals the vile secrets of his soul.
O.R.: Yes, in the book it is the ugly truth, but in my work I'm leaving it open for the viewer to see what they see and make up their own minds. I made it especially for Curator's Eye II when I knew I was in the show.
J.G.: Who is this 'Cubby' who features in some of your video works?
O.R.: I was in art school at the time and I was interested in having a character come to life. I wanted a character who would interact with the audience. The character I came up with for the final year show was an everyman or rather an everywoman. She is called Cubby and she is every female as a little girl she has no face, no features, she is just a shape, a cut-out, generic pattern embracing all women in personality.
Three videos expand the narrative of Cubby. She moves through these domestic environments and interacts with household objects. There are no people in it but objects like shoes take on a character in the narrative.
J.G.: Her adventures seem a little sinister.
O.R.: Definitely sinister. She also interacts with psychotic versions of herself. I am making the domestic space ominous.
J.G.: You are becoming much talked about because of your use of new technologies, such as video animation.
O.R.: I understand it is a novelty because in Jamaica people are not used to it at all, except in the field of video art. I'm doing it because I am not satisfied with painting alone. I feel a painting has to be more interactive with its audience. This is one of the more obvious ways. I also have a website.
J.G.: You have another character called 'Cookie' who reminds me of the art of Betye Saar. Is there a connection?
OR: Yes. But many African American artists have used this Aunt Jemimah figure. I'm not using it in the same way. She gets her name from a cookie jar that I found in a relative's home. I was very attracted to it as an object and I embarked on a long series of works called The Cookie Jar Anthropologies. I am very interested in why we in Jamaica would still sell an object like that.
J.G.: What is your greatest artistic influence?
O.R.: I look at a lot of different contemporary painters.
J.G.: There are a lot of international influences in your work?
O.R.: I think it is very important to look internationally. I particularly like Ida Applebroog, Kara Walker and John Currin. I like Currin because he flies in the face of all sorts of things, even serious issues like feminism. I think that's great: not to take oneself too seriously.
J.G.: Your work does seem gently ironic.
O.R.: I like humour, not ha-ha! or slapstick humour, but good humour. I'm dealing with serious subjects but I don't want to be too militant - that's not my language.
You can find more of Oneika Russell's work on her website www.oneikarussell.com. Curator's Eye II, Identity and History: Personal and Social Narratives in Art in Jamaica is curated by Dr. Eddie Chambers. The exhibition runs through 18 March, 2006. Please call the National Gallery at 922 1561 for more details or email us at natgalja@cwjamaica.com.
