Charmaine Watkiss

‘The Warrior’s presence is safeguarded for generations to come’

Charmaine Watkiss.

29.5 x 42.5cm

Edition of 50

Printed on Somerset Satin White

Published by Liverpool Biennial

Collaborating printer: Catherine Ade

Five colour lithograph with hand applied watercolour and ink

Watkiss’s practice connects research into African Caribbean diaspora, which is then mapped onto female figures that resemble the artist. She draws herself as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with an idea, then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over.

Charmaine explains ‘The Warrior’s presence is safeguarded for generations to come’:

“My practice looks at the Botanical Legacies of the Caribbean. I am particularly interested in the knowledge of plants and healing traditions from Africa which travelled across the transatlantic along with the enslaved. Much of this knowledge was sought after by people such as Hans Sloane – (whose collection formed the basis of the British Museum). I have recently completed a fellowship looking at the two volumes about the Natural History of Jamaica which was written by Sloane; and the plant warrior I have made for this limited edition is one of the plants that he documented in Volume 2 of that publication.

This Anchovy Pear Warrior is a tree which is indigenous to Jamaica – and I chose her for this limited edition precisely because once upon a time she was endangered. The fact that she is quite rare makes her special, I have connected her to Jamaica’s revolutionary history because she grows in terrain that once upon a time was not easily accessible by westerners.

She is a survivor because she is no longer on the red list of endangered species – her status is now stable. So I have christened her accordingly: The Warrior’s presence is safeguarded for generations to come.”

Charmaine’s recent exhibitions include: The Wisdom Tree, her first institutional solo show at Leeds Art Gallery; Drawing attention: emerging British artists group show at the British Museum; and Breakfast Under the Tree, curated by Russell Tovey, a group show at Carl Freedman Gallery. Her work is held in private and public collections including: The British Museum, London UK; The Government Art Collection, London UK; Cartwright Hall Museum, Bradford UK; Abbott Hall Museum, Kendall UK and Nasher Museum at Duke University, Durham NC USA.

 

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