- Words by John Atkinson Photography by Lia Crowe
For Jamaican-born visual artist Charles Campbell, making good art is about expanding his world and its possibilities91裸聊视频攁nd then inspiring others to do the same.
The now Victoria-based painter, sculptor and performance artist has been exploring multiple disciplines and his own creative mind for nearly 30 years, and this year he has been honoured with the Jack & Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award.
91裸聊视频淚 can be extroverted, but mostly I tend to come into myself, and so the art production is where I kind of move into the world and imagine its possibilities in a bigger space,91裸聊视频� Charles says. 91裸聊视频淎t this moment, in the world, it feels like things are closing down. There91裸聊视频檚 this ecological tragedy we91裸聊视频檙e living through and a kind of segmentation of groups into smaller categories. There91裸聊视频檚 so much possibility in the world, so let91裸聊视频檚 recapture that sense. And hopefully, through my art, I can help and inspire other people to imagine that bigger perspective.91裸聊视频�
As for what he91裸聊视频檚 discovered is possible for himself, the 52-year-old highlights race and climate change as his most prominent motivations in creating art.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 often about both capturing the experience I and other Black folks/racialized people have lived through, and seeing how that can assist us in navigating the future.
91裸聊视频淥ur history has demanded we reinvent our cultures and move forward. When you think about the history of slavery, its brutality and attempt to annihilate our social structures and personhood, it necessitated a kind of cultural ferment. We have to reconstruct ourselves.91裸聊视频�
When Charles was five, his family moved from Jamaica to Prince Edward Island. Keen to reconnect with his homeland, he moved back to Jamaica after obtaining a degree in fine arts from Concordia University in Montreal. And that91裸聊视频檚 where he cut his teeth as an artist.
Charles had investigated issues of race and identity at art school and felt compelled to properly connect with his Jamaican-ness. He stayed for five years and later returned for another two-year spell, including time as chief curator at the National Gallery of Jamaica.
The artist was captivated by Jamaican history, not least its period of slavery, and how the colonial past and social fractures affect the current-day social dynamics and problems with violence. His art helps investigate and expand these ideas.
91裸聊视频淚 think the question I always ask is 91裸聊视频榟ow did we end up here?91裸聊视频� In Canada, I feel like we try to gloss over the fact our foundation is rooted in Indigenous genocide. But it91裸聊视频檚 harder to pretend Jamaica91裸聊视频檚 economic foundations were anything other than as a slave colony.91裸聊视频�
Charles left Jamaica after his five-year spell to do a master91裸聊视频檚 degree at Goldsmiths College in London, England, and then spent five years there, marrying his first wife, having two kids and eventually moving to Vancouver Island to reconnect with family.
Working out of his home studio in Fernwood, Charles now focuses more on sculpture and performance art91裸聊视频攁lthough, he also began painting.
91裸聊视频淭hen, really through my master91裸聊视频檚 degree at Goldsmiths, I started getting interested in performance. I found any references I made to Caribbean history in my paintings were dismissed. They were just seen as 91裸聊视频榟e91裸聊视频檚 talking about Blackness91裸聊视频� or 91裸聊视频榟e91裸聊视频檚 a Caribbean artist91裸聊视频�.
91裸聊视频淧erformance art placed me in the middle of these categorizations and really allowed me to answer back to my audience.91裸聊视频�
Having reinvented his painting, Charles explored both performance and sculpture through a character.
91裸聊视频淚 got obsessed with this character from a Jamaican folk festival called Jonkonnu and started reinventing it. I created a character called Actor Boy from a utopian future and embedded that question of 91裸聊视频榟ow did we get here?91裸聊视频� in him. Then he started making objects and that became my sculpture practice.91裸聊视频�
Charles portrayed Actor Boy in Travels in Birdsong on stage in PEI and interacted with his sculptures as part of the performance.
Travels in Birdsong also featured audio sound captures of wetland birds singing from The Bog, a place on PEI which was previously home to a Black community.
91裸聊视频淭he idea was refined for my airport piece [Time Catcher: The Fruiting of Chaos, a permanent exhibit at Victoria International Airport]. It91裸聊视频檚 made out of these vessels that hang in a torus. And the pattern on the surface is Morse code: a quote about paradise from Octavia Butler91裸聊视频檚 Parable of the Sower. She91裸聊视频檚 a Black science fiction writer known for being very prescient.91裸聊视频�
Charles is especially proud of his airport exhibit and his piece Maroonscape 3, portraying a 17-foot tree in a Y shape (and with mini-Y91裸聊视频檚 in the branches) and the human respiratory system, which was displayed at the Vancouver Art Gallery91裸聊视频檚 2021 Vancouver Special show, and later reinstalled in Montreal.
Charles now works full-time as an artist, but says his major success and recognition has come only in the last three or four years.
91裸聊视频淵es, now it feels like a career. But it hasn91裸聊视频檛 always paid the bills. I91裸聊视频檝e worked in the environmental non-profit sector for many years. However, I always made art and it got to the point where there were enough opportunities to really go for it.
91裸聊视频淚91裸聊视频檝e been making work for nearly 30 years and it91裸聊视频檚 only the past three or four where I91裸聊视频檝e made a decent living. So hopefully you91裸聊视频檙e doing good work that gets recognized. The stars won91裸聊视频檛 always align for you, but I91裸聊视频檓 confident I can work through the challenges.91裸聊视频�
His exceptional art has this year enjoyed the sublime salute of a Jack & Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award. His near three-decade career as an artist91裸聊视频攁nd the outstanding achievement and commitment he has shown91裸聊视频攅arned him a $15,000 grant as selected by an independent jury.
Since their inception, 59 VIVA Awards have been given, and Campbell says it was 91裸聊视频減retty thrilling91裸聊视频� to get the call from the awards committee.
91裸聊视频淚t feels good to be recognized closer to home,91裸聊视频� he said. 91裸聊视频淭he list of previous recipients is impressive and it91裸聊视频檚 especially meaningful to share this year91裸聊视频檚 award with Jan Wade. Recognition for her work is long overdue!
91裸聊视频淏eyond that, the cheque certainly comes in handy. I91裸聊视频檓 looking for a new studio that can accommodate larger work but wasn91裸聊视频檛 quite sure I could afford it. Now the search is on.91裸聊视频�
To learn more about Charles91裸聊视频� work, visit charlescampbellart.com.
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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