“ECSTATIC SHADOWS” ART EXHIBITION INTRODUCES CONCEPTUAL ART
An eclectic array of art works by six Grand Bahama artists — Dr. Kevin Bethel, Fred Smith, Loryn Blower, Susan Moir Mackay, Omar Smith, and Alla Kriman — was recently showcased at the Freeport Art Centre.
Several artists made their artistic debuts, stepping out of their day-to-day roles and revealing both a new side to their talents and an art form not often seen on Grand Bahama.
The exhibition introduced conceptual art — a contemporary form of art that emphasizes ideas or concepts, rather than aesthetic or material concerns.
Focusing on the idea behind the art work, conceptual art questions the very nature of what is understood as art.
In this recent exhibition, “Ecstatic Shadows – the unexplored beauty of life” was the theme investigated in a wide variety of mixed media, sculptures, paintings, photography, and drawings curated by Susan Moir Mackay, the founder of ST
ARTS, a National Art Gallery of The Bahamas-endorsed organization that celebrates contemporary arts here in The Bahamas.
Featured artist Dr. Kevin Bethel and his son, Noah, displayed sculptures made from unconventional materials that were inspired by shared family moments.
Local attorney, Fred Smith, showed a variety of free flow and richly detailed drawings that were created spontaneously, flowing from his subconscious, on papers at hand, such as office post-it notes or yellow legal pads.
Student Loryn Blower exhibited paintings of bold, vivid colours that expressed a variety of emotions and impressions of how those emotions are received in society.
Omar Smith added his unique powers of observation to the show with photographic collages entitled “Lucid Dreams”.
Artist Susan Moir Mackay, a B.A. (Hons) graduate of Edinburgh College of Art, exhibited three-dimensional pieces, such as an actual glass medicine cabinet depicting some of the acceptable forms for healing our “shadow” or “unowned” emotions in today’s culture.
Alla Kriman also exhibited mixed media paintings and photographs exploring the acceptance of a variety of emotions, both known and unknown.
Displayed in and amongst the art works were various quotes by well known philosophers, discussing the importance of wholeness, and bringing light to our “shadow” selves:
“We all have the tendency to see things in black and white. But there is good and bad, and dark and light in everything. To deny it anywhere is to deny it everywhere. There is nothing we can see that is not God, and when we can see that in ourselves then we are able to see it in everyone.” — Debbie Ford
The exhibition’s opening night party transported guests to a new art realm that inspired reflections on wholeness and acceptance.
