Nicholas Huggins’ Tropical Dreams explores life, memories

BAVINA SOOKDEO

Tropical Dreams, that’s the name of 35-year-old Nicholas Huggins’ latest art exhibition which runs from December 16-20 at the Art Society of Trinidad and Tobago, Federation Park, Port of Spain.

The exhibition features 64 pieces that explore everyday life and memories in TT. It is the final instalment in a trilogy that began with Up to Now (2023) and Field Trip (2024).

The head of Backyard Design Company, Huggins has built an award-winning creative studio, earning multiple gold and silver Addy awards and the prestigious Charlie Award for his steelpan-themed Google Doodle. His large-scale installations can be seen across public spaces such as C3 Centre, East Gates Mall and the Phase 2 panyard. He has also created album art for Kes The Band.

According to Huggins, 12 of his 64 pieces are still life pieces that show typical things that most Trinidadians have in their home – Angostura bitters, fruits, veggies, Crix and more. “I want the pieces to feel relatable and to shine a light on the common, everyday moments of life,” he shared.

A love for art

A resident of St Ann’s, Huggins always had a love for art. When he was younger, he entered a lot of art competitions and was always drawing or painting. Upon attending CIC (St Mary’s College), his interest continued to grow and he pursued art for both CXC and CAPE. Encouraged by his parents and art teacher Andre Reyes, he pursued his bachelor of fine arts in graphic design at Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia. In 2013, Huggins returned to TT to work as a graphic designer and has since gained international recognition. TT, however, remains the heart of his visual language.

Questioned on what Tropical Dreams means to him and what inspired the title of this exhibition, Huggins related, “Coming up with the title of an exhibition is always a challenge. I have a list of potential names and this was one of my favourites from the list. To me, a tropical dream gives a sense of our memories of living in Trinidad and the broader Caribbean, and the hopes that we have for the place that we call home.”

The exhibition grew out of a daily practice Huggins started on January 1 – creating a new piece of art every single day to share on his Instagram page. “I have now done well over 300 pieces this year, ranging from quick sketches to entire paintings” he said. “Because these are all derived from this project, it’s almost like a visual journal of 2025 for me.”

Asked if there is a particular piece that feels like the heart of the exhibition for him, Huggins shared that would be a huge wall in the gallery that will have over 25 small pieces arranged together. “All of these pieces are from my daily art challenge and include drawings with ink, water colours, pastels and acrylic paintings” he said. “It’s such a mix of work and shows an insight into what interested me this year.”

Although he is known for his digital work, this exhibition marks a shift in medium for Huggins. “This is the first time I have spent a focused amount of time honing my skills as a painter,” he explained. So thematically, the work may be similar to some of my other work, but just executed in a much different way, as there are many more original art mediums this time around – paintings, ink drawings, watercolour and pastels.”

Ironically, the digital pieces were the hardest to create. “I really wanted to do work that felt new. I felt renewed creatively through working on the paintings and every time I sat down to work on a digital piece that sense of inspiration wasn’t hitting,” he said. Inspiration finally struck while on vacation in November – “sometimes that’s how it goes.”

Asked what he wants viewers to feel, Huggins shared that he hopes they can see themselves and their lives in the pieces. “As artists, you are capturing moments in time, so I would like the viewer to feel that their lives and surroundings have been captured in these pieces.”

A new chapter

Questioned on how international recognition impacted his creative direction, Huggins pointed that he sees awards as an indicator that he is creating a body of work that awards jurors feel is noteworthy but he emphasised that client satisfaction remains his priority. “A project like the Google Doodle put my name on the map a little bit as it was such a big project as far as the number of eyes that saw it. So, these moments are good because as an artist I want to share my work with others, and projects like the Google Doodle enabled my work to be seen by a lot of people.”

In addition to being an artist and leading Backyard Design Company, Huggins also oversees his gallery space at 12 Mucurapo Road. Managing all three roles, he noted, takes passion and structure – not just creativity. “It definitely is a challenge to balance what each aspect of my professional and personal life demands of my time,” he said. He credits a strong team at Backyard Design Company for keeping operations running smoothly, along with dedicated support at his gallery. As for his personal art practice, he explained, “That really depends on me…I work on that as I see fit, following the muse.” He added that his wife, Alex Beadon Huggins, also plays an important role, particularly on the marketing side, helping him keep all the pieces aligned.

With Tropical Dreams, Huggins closes a creative chapter – and prepares to open another. “My wife and I are expecting our first baby next year,” he revealed. “With the growth of our family, I plan to take a break from exhibiting for a few years and focus on my design agency, my family and my gallery.”

Still, he is optimistic about the future – whatever it brings. “…As I go into 2026 about to become a father, I will follow the muse as best as I can and see what that brings me.

“I already have tonnes of ideas of what can be next, but right now I am focusing on Tropical Dreams and making sure that it is goes as smoothly as possible.”

When asked what he wants to say to TT’s young creatives, Huggins urged them – “Just keep doing what you are doing. Be patient, follow your interests and stay curious.”

Tropical Dreams opens December 16 from 5 pm-9 pm and continues until December 20 during the society's regular hours.

For more info visit https://www.nicholashuggins.com/