Busy day in the studio 24/03/09

Digital moment on an island. I was just too caught up to go for my camera and opted for cell phone images. Discussions about Haben & Thea's submitted mid-term papers and about the structuring of the final presentations began but things took an interesting turn. So here goes:


Digital Moment.

Everyone was on the net. Marcel Pinas, artist from Suriname, passed through, for the day, on his way to the Havana Biennial. Pinas talked about the symbolism in his work and about Maroon culture and contemporary art practice. Nicole Awai, Trinidadian artist who lives in New York, but now teaches in Chicago, but was sitting in a cafe in Brooklyn, called on Skype and opened a discussion with Haben and Thea about business culture in Trinidad and the challenges of working in Port of Spain and New York.


Marcel, Thea and Haben


Natalie, Thea and Haben

Natalie Wei, artist and researcher from Toronto, doing Post graduate work at UWI, stopped by to drop off "Chinese Restaurants" a 15 part work about that subject in different countries around the world. Further conversations about walking the streets as women while contending with sexual and ethnic labeling /evaluations /commentaries came up. Will this evolve into a work or study of some kind?


Lunch got going and Sean Leonard stopped in with Nicholas Laughlin with some copies of the Caribbean Review of Books for Havana. They took Marcel Pinas to have a look at Alice Yard. He has a few ideas for June. Natalie's friend Matt, in the foreground, who is also passing through, was busy with some curry, wondering where he would encounter a good surfing wave in Tobago the following day.


Nicholas Laughlin's mind on work to be done back home. My mind was on what caused so many people and energies to pass through my studio. It was a lively and informative moment.