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In Studio with Charles Campbell

Victoria artist wins Shadbolt Foundation VIVA Award
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- Words by John Atkinson Photography by Lia Crowe

For Jamaican-born visual artist Charles Campbell, making good art is about expanding his world and its possibilitiesB次元官网网址攁nd then inspiring others to do the same.

The now Victoria-based painter, sculptor and performance artist has been exploring multiple disciplines and his own creative mind for nearly 30 years, and this year he has been honoured with the Jack & Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award.

B次元官网网址淚 can be extroverted, but mostly I tend to come into myself, and so the art production is where I kind of move into the world and imagine its possibilities in a bigger space,B次元官网网址 Charles says. B次元官网网址淎t this moment, in the world, it feels like things are closing down. ThereB次元官网网址檚 this ecological tragedy weB次元官网网址檙e living through and a kind of segmentation of groups into smaller categories. ThereB次元官网网址檚 so much possibility in the world, so letB次元官网网址檚 recapture that sense. And hopefully, through my art, I can help and inspire other people to imagine that bigger perspective.B次元官网网址

As for what heB次元官网网址檚 discovered is possible for himself, the 52-year-old highlights race and climate change as his most prominent motivations in creating art.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 often about both capturing the experience I and other Black folks/racialized people have lived through, and seeing how that can assist us in navigating the future.

B次元官网网址淥ur history has demanded we reinvent our cultures and move forward. When you think about the history of slavery, its brutality and attempt to annihilate our social structures and personhood, it necessitated a kind of cultural ferment. We have to reconstruct ourselves.B次元官网网址

When Charles was five, his family moved from Jamaica to Prince Edward Island. Keen to reconnect with his homeland, he moved back to Jamaica after obtaining a degree in fine arts from Concordia University in Montreal. And thatB次元官网网址檚 where he cut his teeth as an artist.

Charles had investigated issues of race and identity at art school and felt compelled to properly connect with his Jamaican-ness. He stayed for five years and later returned for another two-year spell, including time as chief curator at the National Gallery of Jamaica.

The artist was captivated by Jamaican history, not least its period of slavery, and how the colonial past and social fractures affect the current-day social dynamics and problems with violence. His art helps investigate and expand these ideas.

B次元官网网址淚 think the question I always ask is B次元官网网址榟ow did we end up here?B次元官网网址 In Canada, I feel like we try to gloss over the fact our foundation is rooted in Indigenous genocide. But itB次元官网网址檚 harder to pretend JamaicaB次元官网网址檚 economic foundations were anything other than as a slave colony.B次元官网网址

Charles left Jamaica after his five-year spell to do a masterB次元官网网址檚 degree at Goldsmiths College in London, England, and then spent five years there, marrying his first wife, having two kids and eventually moving to Vancouver Island to reconnect with family.

Working out of his home studio in Fernwood, Charles now focuses more on sculpture and performance artB次元官网网址攁lthough, he also began painting.

B次元官网网址淭hen, really through my masterB次元官网网址檚 degree at Goldsmiths, I started getting interested in performance. I found any references I made to Caribbean history in my paintings were dismissed. They were just seen as B次元官网网址榟eB次元官网网址檚 talking about BlacknessB次元官网网址 or B次元官网网址榟eB次元官网网址檚 a Caribbean artistB次元官网网址.

B次元官网网址淧erformance art placed me in the middle of these categorizations and really allowed me to answer back to my audience.B次元官网网址

Having reinvented his painting, Charles explored both performance and sculpture through a character.

B次元官网网址淚 got obsessed with this character from a Jamaican folk festival called Jonkonnu and started reinventing it. I created a character called Actor Boy from a utopian future and embedded that question of B次元官网网址榟ow did we get here?B次元官网网址 in him. Then he started making objects and that became my sculpture practice.B次元官网网址

Charles portrayed Actor Boy in Travels in Birdsong on stage in PEI and interacted with his sculptures as part of the performance.

Travels in Birdsong also featured audio sound captures of wetland birds singing from The Bog, a place on PEI which was previously home to a Black community.

B次元官网网址淭he idea was refined for my airport piece [Time Catcher: The Fruiting of Chaos, a permanent exhibit at Victoria International Airport]. ItB次元官网网址檚 made out of these vessels that hang in a torus. And the pattern on the surface is Morse code: a quote about paradise from Octavia ButlerB次元官网网址檚 Parable of the Sower. SheB次元官网网址檚 a Black science fiction writer known for being very prescient.B次元官网网址

Charles is especially proud of his airport exhibit and his piece Maroonscape 3, portraying a 17-foot tree in a Y shape (and with mini-YB次元官网网址檚 in the branches) and the human respiratory system, which was displayed at the Vancouver Art GalleryB次元官网网址檚 2021 Vancouver Special show, and later reinstalled in Montreal.

Charles now works full-time as an artist, but says his major success and recognition has come only in the last three or four years.

B次元官网网址淵es, now it feels like a career. But it hasnB次元官网网址檛 always paid the bills. IB次元官网网址檝e worked in the environmental non-profit sector for many years. However, I always made art and it got to the point where there were enough opportunities to really go for it.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e been making work for nearly 30 years and itB次元官网网址檚 only the past three or four where IB次元官网网址檝e made a decent living. So hopefully youB次元官网网址檙e doing good work that gets recognized. The stars wonB次元官网网址檛 always align for you, but IB次元官网网址檓 confident I can work through the challenges.B次元官网网址

His exceptional art has this year enjoyed the sublime salute of a Jack & Doris Shadbolt Foundation for the Visual Arts VIVA Award. His near three-decade career as an artistB次元官网网址攁nd the outstanding achievement and commitment he has shownB次元官网网址攅arned him a $15,000 grant as selected by an independent jury.

Since their inception, 59 VIVA Awards have been given, and Campbell says it was B次元官网网址減retty thrillingB次元官网网址 to get the call from the awards committee.

B次元官网网址淚t feels good to be recognized closer to home,B次元官网网址 he said. B次元官网网址淭he list of previous recipients is impressive and itB次元官网网址檚 especially meaningful to share this yearB次元官网网址檚 award with Jan Wade. Recognition for her work is long overdue!

B次元官网网址淏eyond that, the cheque certainly comes in handy. IB次元官网网址檓 looking for a new studio that can accommodate larger work but wasnB次元官网网址檛 quite sure I could afford it. Now the search is on.B次元官网网址

To learn more about CharlesB次元官网网址 work, visit charlescampbellart.com.

Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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