The Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive School (ALHCS) held its Annual Visual Arts Exhibition at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium on Thursday 13th April, 2023.
The attractive displays were proudly presented by Art students from Form 5 who are currently being assessed for their CXC grading.
The tables around the Auditorium were adorned with craftwork reflecting the impressive skills and talents of the students, while other students went from table to table.
The Anguillian took a tour of the tables, and we were able, as accustomed, to receive a statement from some of the students about how they produced their amazing art work.
We first spoke with Ms. Alisa Richardson whose style was abstract and her theme was “Within Rivers”. Through her expressions she tried to capture everything on rivers. “I am doing painting, mixed media and textiles for my expressive forms,” she said. “I use the elements of lines, shapes, texture and color to produce a river scene.”
Rashonda Hodge’s theme was ‘Fruits of the Caribbean’. “I have made three ceramic pieces here,” she said. “This one is my first work in ceramics. I used leaves to imprint on the clay to make it appear as actual leaves. It is painted to look realistic. This next one is a papaya plate. I used the clay to build up the image of the papaya so that the cut papaya with its seeds seems to be resting on the plate.”
She also displayed her ceramic work of a broad grape leaf with a bunch of sea grapes resting on it. Among other items, Roshonda also created a beautiful pillow with an astounding portrait of a mango, as well as a gorgeous set of dining table place mats showing the indigenous mamey (mamee) fruit.
Jarreen Liburd’s theme was ‘A Day at the Beach’. It displayed several beach-scenes depicting the enjoyment of a wonderful Anguilla vacation. Her art would appeal to tourists contemplating a visit to the island.
“I wanted to capture the unusual settings of beach-life – the things that people usually overlook, like the boats that have been wrecked,” Jarreen said. “But I also want to highlight the natural beauty of the beach. Here, I have a collection of shells found on the beach, and I have depicted the quiet stillness of the waters that invite swimmers to have fun while embracing the awesome beauty of the ocean.”
While most of the art students were female, there were a couple males among them. One such artist was Clayton Lloyd, grandson and namesake of Anguilla’s pioneer in aviation. As a lover of nature, he chose to depict reptiles.
“My theme is Reptiles of the Caribbean,” he stated, “but my journal would be labeled ‘Reptiles of the Isles’. This first piece is done in textile, tie-die and stencil. I stenciled on the divers, the turtle and the coral reefs. As a certified open water diver, I am drawing from the experiences I have had in Sandy Island which is surrounded by a reef.”
“My next piece,” Clayton said, “is a Saban iguana, which is endemic to the island of Saba. For this scene, I have used plaster of Paris for the texture of the sea rocks. Next, this is a pillow which I have crafted. It displays a tortoise in an art form called trapunto. I had a turtle for a pet when I was a child, so I have an image of him on my sentimental pillow.”
In addition, Clayton showed the Anguillian dinner time pieces depicting the presence of “wood slaves” eating moths for their dinner from around a table lamp. He also showed his authentic looking crafting of a “ground lizard”, Anguilla’s national animal; art work on a Puerto Rican boa (snake); a blue-eyed St. Maarten lizard; and a jumping Cuban crocodile.
Shakiara Fleming’s theme was “Outburst in Paradise”. My first display is a rug made out of plastic mesh and yarn,” she said. “This one is a tie-dye piece laced with some attractive embroidery and paint. In addition, I have also done this batik piece with tie-dye and embroidery.” Shakiara also exhibited a lovely tie-dye and embroidery pillow and a felt purse.
Azuri Fleming’s theme was “Flowers”. “I was inspired by our national flower, the White Cedar,” she said. “I used to play with white cedars a lot when I was a child. I have done these crafts of different types of Caribbean flowers. This one is a Bird of Paradise flower. Then, there is the Sunflower, and this is a sunset with a floral display in the background.” She also displayed a beautiful tie-dye floral pillow.
Carjèneé Maccow-Niles’ theme was “Memories in the Caribbean Eye”. All of her pieces depicted eyes. “This is about visual imagery,” she said, “due to one seeing through the amazing eye. All of the displays were paintings on canvas, which all feature the eye.”
Among the other pieces, she noted, “This acrylic painting on canvas with the eye shows reggae rhythms through the eye of Caribbean music.”
Shamyra Brooks-Santana’s theme was “Fifty Shades of Melanin”, which depicted various shades of human skin complexion.
“Melanin is a substance in the body that determines the color of the eyes, the hair and the skin,” she said. “I wanted, by my work here, to help others to embrace themselves no matter what the colour of their skin might be. Through my displays, I am showing people that their skin is a work of art by the Master creator, and they must appreciate its shade.”
Shamyra’s expressive style was through painting and mixed media, tie-dye and stencil, and tie-dye and embroidery. In describing one particular item, she said: “This piece is actually water-color paint, and then I went in with a sharpie pencil to portray the flow and texture of the hair, making it more abstract and appealing to the eye.”
Meanwhile, Head of the Visual Arts Department, Mrs. Navene Mairyshaw explained what went into the exhibition and how the artwork will be graded.
“We have twenty-two students today putting their work on display. The work ranges from painting, sculpture, graphic design, textile design and manipulation, and fiber arts,” she said. “The students have worked very hard over countless hours trying to prepare for this day.”
When asked how the work will be graded, Ms. Mairyshaw responded: “All the work will be graded here locally, and then shipped off to Barbados for external grading. The students will then sit their examinations in June.”
