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PORTFOLIO

Portfolio

Not present in a place, at an occasion, or as part of something.

During this year (2023) I've been learning how to take a step back. I've been trying not to take control and to be more present in life as it unfolds but if you know me this is extremely hard but I've been doing it, so far so good. 
with the new practice of being more in the moment, I have found myself experiencing a number of out-of-body experiences and I have been documenting the feelings of Absence that those experiences have evoked within me. 

This series will explore ideas of nudity (both bodily and mentally), mental awareness, and other aspects as I start to explore the works I create.

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This is a very new series that was recently created while I was in residence at the Vermont Studio Centre. It is still a series in progress so I will be updating this page with a new title, information, and new artwork as they come.

Trapped in paradise is a body of work that was created during the quarantine portion of Covid-19 in 2020. It examines ideas of paradise as a type of cage, not only with its imagery but with its ideologies both taught and adapted from the western world. In addition to imagery such as the palm tree and mother sally, I touch on things such as mental slavery, blind faith, and followers as well as death, and birth.


This series also explores the different aspects of my identity as a black Barbadian Contemporary artist. It touches on different aspects like nationalism through works that deal with the projection of Barbadian national identity through symbolism and suggestion.  

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​Moments From My Island Home is a new series of works that examines the people of an island as the product for consumption as well as the ones that serve themselves for consumption.

Beautifully Braided is a series of Drawings and Paintings of black women and girls' hairstyles. The purpose of this series is to show the beauty, balance, grace, and strength in the females who adorn them while exploring the ideas of Paradise through Caribbean imagery.​

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​This body of work was started in January of 2018. These pieces have been created using the deconstructed pieces of my previous drawings from my beautifully braided series that were created with the purpose of being puzzle pieces for other works.

Unsolved Seascape is a series of hand-cut and hand-painted 3" puzzle pieces that depict fractions of a seascape/wave. The purpose of this series is to explore the relationship between the Caribbean and the excessive use of the seascape imagery.​

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Instruments of Nationalism deals with the projection of Barbadian national identity through cultural symbols. I use the Mother Sally figure, the Tuk Band, palm trees, the coat-of-arms, the trident, and the national colors in subversive ways. 

CONTACT ME
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CONTACT ME!

akilahwatts20@gmail.com

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