EFA STUDIO PROGRAM: Member Artists

Simonette Quamina

Artist's Website
Inside the Artist’s Studio Documentary

Through the use of printmaking, and collage, I investigate the possibilities of drawing when, memory, history, and cultural indicators are reassembled to form new visual allegories. They are narratives that re-evaluate perceptions of cultural, racial and social norms, while simultaneously challenging preconceived, romanticized ideas of the Caribbean. The stigmas that often accompany these modes of thinking are cut, pasted and re-presented in multi-layered works on paper which reference some of the traditional aesthetics of printmaking and collage within an art historical context.

Graphite stands as a main medium within my studio practice and it offers endless possibilities in constructing the visual narrative of each piece. Its inherent nature to reflect and absorb light, allows the freedom to transform its physical state in accordance to the needs of each drawing; From a solid form, to powder, wet medium and as an ink made for printmaking. Through the physical changes of the graphite, moments of uncertainty and query occurs within a medium that is seemingly familiar.

Collage continues the “act” of drawing through pasting and becomes a record of the initial print. Through cutting, and merging of multiple prints, figures emerge or seemingly find refuge between the layers of paper. Their identities are often obscured and rely on the viewers perception of gender and racial identity to place them in a definitive context of figuration. Combining various papers onto one pictorial space references my own diverse childhood upbringing as my family relocated between Canada, South America, St. Vincent, and Brooklyn, New York. My neo-diaspora experiences in assimilating to each new environment directly informs the way in which I use traditional materials and methods to merge narratives.