My inspiration comes from the people I grew up with, like this photo I took when I was in Haiti over 5 years ago. In the village where I stayed, there is no running water, and the young people fetch water twice a day for their homes. Many carry the water in jars on their heads, and another jar in their hands.
This recent piece is inspired by a young artist, Princess (Prensés) Neyoo who has to do her water chores before she can begin to think of creating art.
In the early 20th Century, Cubism was a groundbreaking movement away from traditional ideas of European painting and sculpture, toward abstraction. It is one of my favourite art styles. What I find interesting in the art world, is that whenever an artist gets famous in his/her style preference, people think they are the master creators behind that preferred style. Cubism is credited to Picasso as the founder, when it was really George Braque who came up with the idea.
In early 2000s I began to experiment and develop my cubism style, inspired by books on the subject. This style allowed me to express myself and have fun with acrylic on canvas. I was able to get away from the realism portraits, landscapes and still life that I had been painting to survive in Haiti. The cubism style I did to please myself, and was surprised when those paintings sold.
This diptych painting was called The Musician. I painted it in 2009, in preparation for an exhibition of music and art in 2010. The 2010 earthquake in Haiti put a stop to that. I lost the bottom part in the earthquake, and the top part disappeared after my cousin died in 2017, after his belongings were shared among his family.
20 years later, working on The Water Bearer, I still get that sense of freedom I first experienced. 20 years later, cubism means freedom, expression of freedom and learning a lot about other artists who develop their version of that style, and admiring their struggle to express who they are.
Part of the sales of my artwork support young artists in Haiti. If you cannot buy an original or a print, please consider purchasing a T-shirt and a mug with my artwork. See the example below, and email prensnelo56@gmail.com to order.
Thank you.