Covid lockdown shoots young artists' egos

Inspired by the change in circumstances, spaces and emotions during periods of isolation and change due to restrictions put in place to limit the spread of covid19, five young artists have collaborated on an exhibition entitled Shot To The Ego. They told Newsday Shot To The Ego embodies what remains when everything generally used to define people is stripped away.

The exhibition, which was open for viewing between October 29 and November 5 at Minshall's Warehouse, Callaloo Company, featured artists Elechi Todd, Bianca Peake, Kriston Banfield, Khaffi Beeckles and Chris Ross-Dick.

The team of artists, with the help of Anna Powell who mapped and designed the space digitally, transformed a section of the warehouse into a space that looked like bits of the traditional gallery, with an industrial overtone – with accents of towering pieces of work by Peter Minshall along the outskirts of the three walls illuminated by focus lights.

Todd said, "A Shot to the Ego is not so much something we came up with but something we arrived at. When we would meet on Whatsapp and Zoom, the idea was for us to find the commonalities between our work that could bring it all together. We related to both our processes and the similarities that allowed us to coexist as fragments."

Asked if they expected the turnout to be as much as they saw, he said they expected the best based on what would have been allowed under the circumstances.

"The reason we felt confident going ahead with the exhibition is that we felt confident that people would have come out to see what we have done."

Ross-Dick told Newsday the team started planning from as early as February and had slated the exhibition for June.

"This was before we knew the coronavirus would have spread the way it has. Because of that, we ended up with more time to create and to plan."

Peake said the lockdowns enforced in response to the spread of the coronavirus definitely had an impact on their work.

"Much of the work I did would not have happened had it not been for the lockdown. I would not be running along this chain of thought if I were not forced to change how I did work."

Peake said she generally gained her inspiration from interacting with others – who would have then become muses for her work. However, this time around, she had no choice but to use herself as the inspiration for her work ­– something she has never done before.

"Using yourself is a battling process. Most of us tend to battle with ourselves, unlike when working with others – using them as somewhat of a mask. But when dealing with self it is different. I think I am self-aware, and so when working with myself I am aware of the baggage I'm bringing with me in the creation process.

"Working with myself I feel like I am working on my relationship with myself and how I perceive the world and how I think it perceives me. The process is very humbling. That's the shot to the ego. You can't hide."

Much of her work shown at the exhibition shows a woman in several different spaces, in each, her body language changes in response to the space occupied by the female figure.

For Todd, the slowed pace of life did not result in much change. He said, however, he realised he had more room to become consumed by the work as the inspiration came to him.

"I was more deeply internal than external. Since the beginning of the pandemic, I could see that people were negatively affected but it didn't change anything in my practice."

Ross-Dick thought the changing pace of life would have given him more time to work, but he realised there was a shift when it came to family time because he found himself spending less time alone.

"It also had an impact to the extent where it allowed for closer collaboration with other artists without interacting in person. For him, the ego is also connected to one's ability to make manifest what dwells within the realms of his imagination.

He said the shot to the ego also includes coming to terms with art not manifesting as he imagined and enjoying it nevertheless, and also coming to terms with how others may feel about his work – good or bad.

Banfield said the concept of a shot to the ego represents a “two-fold experience of being something detrimental, while it could also be a shot, as in a boost.” He said the work he presented were personal pieces.

“This time I took my own stories into account, aiming for a measure of honesty. Hopefully, it translated.”

Asked what feedback he received from people who visited the exhibition, he said some people could relate to his work — feeling emotions similar to what he felt in the creative process, while some said the work made them feel uncomfortable or uneasy. For both kinds of responses, Banfield said he is pleased because this means the work would have triggered some kind of inner dialogue. He hopes their work can reach everyone.

“Art is for everyone. We would like to have our work reach, and be available to people from every stratum of society."

Beckles said dynamic energy among the artists made it healthy and the synergy resulted in quick production.

The art student at the University of Arizona said she returned to TT the day the borders closed.

“I was doing a lot of reflection on my work during covid.”

She said the unpacking process brought her to revisit some work she completed last year. The work Beckles completed while in Arizona gave life to the inverse based on the space she was occupying in TT.

While in TT, she said she has been occupying the home of her late grandmother, a space which influenced much of the work she created this year, in the same way the space she occupied in Arizona influenced the aesthetics of the work she produced last year. The work in Arizona, she said, shows how inside and outside are seen and treated as separate spaces — while in TT, there is a flow, exchange and even merging of indoor and outdoor spaces.

While she realised she had sunken into depression this year, for which she received much support and understanding from her family, it awakened her to other parts of herself.

“Being alone in my grandmother’s house allowed me to feel closer to her because I could relate to her experience even more. She spent much of her time there alone, being a housewife and facing her challenges with mental health which went undiagnosed. The pandemic forced that necessary solitude.”

For her, the shot to the ego had to do with the vulnerability expressed through her work. She said her current body of work reflects her attachment to objects and things that tell the story of who she sees herself as.

“Everyone is grappling with a different level of vulnerability when we show up in the world. As artists, we get to hide behind the work, but the shot to my ego has been showing more, pulling back the veil.”

The artists said while much of the work from the exhibition was sold, they have more work in the pipelines and are always creating. They intend to create an online catalogue of their work, but until then, their work can be viewed on their social media pages.