An extraordinary and talented persona within
the art arena takes the form of Mr. Richard Rampersad. Born in the
sub-urban area of Valsayn, on the 2nd August 1990, Mr
Rampersad possesses a profound wealth of
artistic competencies in all spheres. Mr. Rampersad is currently a full
time practicing artist. He is the recipient of a first class
honours degree in Visual Art from the
University of the West -Indies (U.W.I). In
addition, he possesses certified knowledge in Graphic Design at the School of
Business and Computer Science (S.B.C.S) as well as Mehndi (U.W.I). Mr. Rampersad`s thorough exposure to workshops in
Puppetry, Painting, Ceramics, Textile Design, Wire bending, Costume making
and Stilt walking bombarded him with a melange of artistic abilities that cannot be disputed.
Richard Rampersad is indeed a promising, pervasive and all-
encompassing artist, whose works merit
close watching.
"”My fascination
for anything I see, feel or experience propels me to do what I do and how I do
it, as my art is a true mirror to my mind I take pleasure in doing what I do
and I believe my conceptualizations deduce more than what meets the naked eye.
It is looking into the deepest recesses of the human heart and soul."
deduce more than what meets the naked
CLEANSING-An
exploration of an idealistic realm.
Wash-in to wash out
The relationship between an image and the reality it
purports to represent is, according to many contemporary critics, inherently
political. This stems in part from the work of poststructuralist theorists, who
have identified a connection between images and power. In my exhibition, each
piece seems to indicate something specific and contributes meaningfully to my
visual language. The highly sophisticated spatial organization, negative space
treatment and non-orthodox idiom in the figure rendering supersede naturalistic
accuracy. My artistic expression goes beyond pictorial representation and
becomes the affirmation of one whose ontological foundation expresses the will
to use the media as a vehicle to convey an idea or narrative. I seek to make
advancement in the visual understanding of the figures and in how they may be
rendered.
t“Art has the
capacity to be both a record of its time and an expression of universal human
values. These values can be related to many sources: individual and group
identities; ethical, religious and political systems; and the experiences of
sexually and gender in addition to aesthetic values. An orientation toward art
as a record of its time means taking a cultural approach to art. But we can
also respond to art as expressive of universal human values not tied to any
particular place”.
-Steven M Leuthold
This body of work reflects my personal journey in
exploring the idea of cleansing. I draw, paint, create and strive to find
fulfillment in my ability to translate thoughts and visions on the canvas
without words, instead, with the ripeness of
colour and texture. The body of work
seeks to interrogate the notion of "wash-in to wash-out" and examines
the narrative of cleansing. The context of cleansing is not used in its literal
sense but in the context of applying symbolic genres and dynamic structures
with in which the human experience, meaning and value are stimulated and
emerged.
Figurative drawing/painting has been a practice
since time immemorial. The simple figures inscribed on the walls of prehistoric
caves are eloquent testimony that this is an activity that is virtually as old
as humankind itself. There is an incredibly amount of diversity in this
genre, but plenty of challenges when it comes to painting figures with power and
depth. My fascination with the human figure propelled and accounted for
the choice of subject matter. More so, the female form. This body of work seeks
to utilize the female figure as the main "motif" to illustrate women
and the plethora of issues and challenges they are bombarded with,
particularly violence.
In the conceptualization and
execution of this work I thought about the use of media and technique as well
as how it can symbolically and meaningfully relate to the idea. Consequently,
the gesticulations and manner in which paint application methods were
manipulated lends itself to the nature of my narrative. The paintings are
large, on a scale considerably greater than life size. When one stands in front
of them it is possible to feel surrounded and enveloped by the
colour and monumental scale.
These large scaled-figures are by themselves on
each canvas with their heads turned gracefully sideways, or blocked from the
observer. This bodily posture is emblematic of the aforementioned social-ill
women are subjected to. As well as representative of how these women are
ostracized, alienated and isolated by society. Splashing, bleeding and dripping
of paints onto the canvas are a symbolic approach to illustrate and simulate
cleansing, i.e. the behaviour of water while bathing. These techniques were predominately utilized on
the background or negative space which carries the same weight as the positive
space. The slender dripping effect of paint on the background surmounted
by the portrait orientation of the canvases echoes the vertical
starts of the figures. The results
are immense bright, joyful and abstract patterns that created a context for the
figures. There is indeed a strong awareness of the contrast of tone and
always a conspicuous depiction of light, whether subdued or intense. There is
the brilliance of colours and tones, shimmering in the vivid finger strokes of the impressionist
technique. These graphic statements are capable of speaking very clearly
to us about our current concerns and are a joy to the observer.
Colour was used for emotional expression and the direst
effect it has on the spectator. Generally speaking,
colour directly influences the soul.
Colour is the keyboard, the eyes are the
hammers, and the soul is the piano with many keys. The artist is the hand that
plays touching one key or another purposively to cause vibrations in the soul.
The colours used on each panel have been orchestrated in harmony as if they were
instruments performing in a concert.
The paint application method of finger painting
was executed to paint the actual figures. This was the chosen technique as it
attempts to create a link and dialogue between the finger marks and the
physical effects of domestic violence. Predominantly an analogous
colour scheme was utilized for the
mathematical colour harmony of the compositions, for the monumental stillness of the
figures and for the limpid clarity of the light that bathes them.
Notwithstanding, in some aspects of the composition, there is a delicacy and
unity of colour in the handling of paint, and a sense of great simplicity, warmth and
directness. The remarkable use of
colour adds greatly to the suggestive and symbolic air surrounding the works
and assists immensely in the beauty, economy and emotional fluency resonated in
each piece. In the background of the painting, colour has a more translucent quality and in the foreground it is more opaque.
Sensuous
pleasure was taken in painting of the figures. The sheer nakedness of my
subjects is representational of women in need of attention, love and support.
On the same level, my conceptualizations deduce more than what meets the naked
eye. It is looking into the deepest recesses of the human heart, a heat that is
consumed with vulnerability, defenselessness and susceptibility; however, there
lurks a strength and empowerment within these women that surpasses all sadness,
weakness and failure. At the same time, I confidently and decisively attempt to
bring alive the female form, portraying them in a fashion synonymous with
sophistication class, elegance, lust sensuality, charisma, inner and outer
strength and most importantly a sexuality worth displaying. The tasteful use of
metallic on the figure seeks to achieve this. Embedded in the work lies a
profound craving for beauty to be appreciated, of the woman to be treated
fairly, and of the woman to be loved and wanted by someone. was taken in painting of the figures. The sheer nakedness of
my subjects is representational of
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