Oct.22- Nov.12/ FINDING BLACK by Richard Mark Rawlins

Medulla Art Gallery is pleased to invite you to
Richard Mark Rawlins: FINDING BLACK

[tw-divider]ABOUT THE WORK[/tw-divider]
Richard Mark Rawlins 2015: “I think the control and presentation of one’s own image is an important concern. How you are perceived shouldn’t be defined by passing “poplitical” references which often make simplistic, stereotypical or racist depictions of blackness. Author W.E.B. Dubois coined the term ‘double consciousness’ to describe the African American struggle to balance being African and American. I would like to think that I, as a black man from the Caribbean, juggle a triple consciousness of sorts – one construct is framed by being Trinidadian, another by being black with entitlements and class privileges, and another purely based on a populist political conditioning by the global media. It is in this triple consciousness balancing act that I believe the work is beginning to find its way.”

[tw-divider]ABOUT THE ARTIST:[/tw-divider] Richard Mark Rawlins is a graphic designer and contemporary artist living and working in Trinidad and Tobago. He is the publisher of the online art magazine Draconian Switch (www.artzpub.com), a co-founder of Trinidad and Tobago’s Erotic Art Week exhibition, and collaborator in the Alice Yard contemporary art-space initiative. Noted exhibitions include the Bienal Internacional de Asuncion 2015, (Paraguay); the Jamaica Biennial 2014; Season of Renewal, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica; the Global Africa Project; Museum of Art and Design (MAD), New York, USA; Who Was That Masked Man Anyway, Alice Yard, Port of Spain (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/who-was-that-masked-man-anyway/), Trinidad & Tobago. He has also participated in the Vermont Studio Center residency. For the past nine years, he has been exploring the cultural poetics and politics of life in Trinidad and Tobago. Inspiration is culled from the streets: He borrows from signage, torn and washed out political fliers and hoardings, the decay of abandoned residences and the nasty, garbage-stained sidewalks of Port of Spain (Trinidad’s capital city). His work is also very much influenced by the word on the street; it will often be marked by texts that parrot anything from the ill-advised soundbytes of elected public officials’ private cellphone conversations, to the everyday musings of the man in the street, as well as the sensationalist headlines of the day. http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/didyuhhearyuhself. His work has documented the politics surrounding the building of Port of Spain’s spanking new shiny buildings and edifices by an influx of Chinese immigrant labour (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/chinese-worker-2010/); examined the cultural nuances and subversive nature of the aural Caribbean gesture known as the STEUPPPS (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/steupps-an-essay/) and the hand gesture known as the MEGEE (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/mega-megee-2012/) ; attempted to provoke a voting populace to vote against an incumbent government through a series of works created in the style of political (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/button-project-2010/) buttons, and – most recently – started interrogating black personal identity as programming via ubiquitous foreign media and popular culture. (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/046-finding-black). His populist gaze comes from a desire to record a rapidly changing society. He comments that our national collective memory is short and we never stop to take stock of where we are, or, where we’re going. Unfortunately, he thinks, we are doomed to repeat our mistakes. His role as an artist in this society is to create work which responds to this phenomenon and to share it to as wide an audience as possible, through the traditional gallery space, non-traditional public spaces, and collaborative social media experiments. As he moves forward with his explorations, he wishes to examine scale in his work as it relates to ideas and materials; three-dimensional sculptural forms and object appropriations and subversions, and I’d like to continue to make street level, public space interventions. (http://www.richardmarkrawlins.com/space-for-rent-2009/ )

[tw-toggle title=”ABOUT MEDULLA ART GALLERY”]

Medulla Art Gallery has been established to carry on and develop the traditions of Aquarela Galleries. Medulla, as the name implies, will provide a core space for art education with public participation through exhibitions, forums and workshops. Geoffrey MacLean, Martin Mouttet and Isabel Brash hope to use Medulla to demonstrate art, not only as a social expression, but also as a medium for therapy and growth. Medulla seeks to produce and promote exhibitions and ancillary events of established and emerging artists.

Medulla also seeks to engage with and educate the public including teachers, students, private and corporate collectors, investors, sponsors, art enthusiasts and media through the development of new innovative programs and initiatives, workshops, artist talks, critical analysis etc. Partnering with other cultural institutions and organizations on collaborative projects is another important goal. Other services offered by Medulla are exhibition installation, appraisals, acquisitions, documentation, advice on conservation restoration and collection management.

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Opening Reception: Thursday 22nd October 2015
Time: 7:00pm – 10:00pm
Address: #37 Fitt Street, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

RSVP: 1(868)7407597, 1(868)622 1196 or medullaartgallery@gmail.com
Artist’s Talk: Thursday 12h November 2015 at 7:00pm
Exhibition continues until: Thursday 12h November 2015
Gallery hours: Mon-Fri 10am-6pm, Sat 11pm-2pm.