I was more interested in thinking about the ideas embedded in the practices of a few contemporary Caribbean artists. In the wake of Black Lives Matter protests and extreme racial profiling and hate crimes, I wanted to become more reflective about how I was using the Black silhouetted image in my own work. In order to do so, I found it useful to invite a community of artists thinking about this particular visual figurative device in image-making to convene and hold a conversation with me. The point being, to discuss how we felt about Black identity and representation as Caribbean artists. For this project, Ludgi Savon (Martinique), Mafalda Mondestin (Haiti), and Phillip Thomas (Jamaica) joined me on Zoom and Instagram to think about the individual ways each of us understood the story of the Afro-Caribbean subjects in our work. In our talks and through discussing the work, we imagined the ways and means these archetypal Black figures were navigating spirituality, reclaiming power, and processing trauma and the pressures of the contemporary present. This research has been very empowering throughout.

The motivation for building connection through this project, as well as for encouraging self-awareness and communality, has naturally pushed the work to new places. The video is continually evolving, and while it is not clear when the journey will be complete, new offshoots have appeared. From the work done on the video, I created what I am calling a “Personal Storytelling Tool” in the shape of a card deck. The deck provides a medium through which I can engage people in the ideas about ecology, history, and self-awareness embedded in the video work. It also functions as a tool for me to explore how to integrate varied personal experiences alongside the experience of the art.

The complete overview of Oneika Russell’s featured work can be found in the Kingston Biennial 2022: Pressure Catalogue, which is available for sale in the NGJ Gift Shop.