Spotlight

07/16/24

My name is Kiera-Grace and I'm a 21 year old artist from South London with Caribbean heritage. I mainly work with oil paint, but have recently started incorporating image transfers into my work. My work is normally vibrant, warm and sentimental.

Using painting as a form of preservation, I Illustrate confluence between the Caribbean and London through a personal, yet nostalgic lens. These works explore the interaction between past and present through combining painting and photography. I'm really interested in how people preserve memories; anything they don't want to forget. I gravitated towards oil painting because I love the physicality of it! Being able to feel the paint and create anything from only a few colours. It has definitely changed how I view things in everyday life.

I'm attracted to anything that highlights the importance of time - or challenges it. Recently I've been obsessed with mythology, due to its power to still remain relevant within cultural norms etc. Nature inspires me a lot because it has a mind of its own. Some of my favourite artists right now include Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, James Jean, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Naudline Pierre and John Akomfrah. I love their methods of creating an atmosphere, and aim to emulate it in my own work. Animated films also inform my practice and remind me to take full advantage of the fact you can create anything with art - it doesn't have to be hyper-realistic. My favourite animated films currently are Paprika and Princess Mononoke.

Something that aids my creativity and process is not narrowing down my source of inspiration. When studying art at school, we were encouraged to specifically look at painters with styles similar to our goals for inspiration. However, as I create more, I see the importance of finding inspiration in multiple places. Films, poetry, conversations, photography and more inspire my work. It allows you to lighten your perspective when you see more things as potential inspiration, while also creating more multidimensional work. Hobbies are also great for when I need to unwind.

Studying art academically... Although it was great to have access to a studio 24/7 for the last couple of years, I think it's very easy to lose yourself. There is a constant battle between wanting a good grade and developing your authentic ideas. Something that helped me was experimenting as much as possible, and remembering why I started painting in the first place.

How do you see your artistic practice evolving into the future? Would you like to explore or integrate any different mediums, themes, or techniques?

I would LOVEEEE to learn how to airbrush! I love murals and learning how to use airbrush/Aerosols will allow me to be more flexible with where I can showcase my work. Psychology is also a big part of my life, so I would like to incorporate some sort of interviewing into my practice as well. I love hearing people's stories and perspectives, so some sort of interrogative work is definitely on the cards.

My degree work celebrates our innate ability to preserve memories, and investigates different ways of doing so. I challenge the definition of an archive by highlighting the use of generational and physical memory. This project started from a conversation with my grandparents; they barely have any photos from childhood and I was curious how they preserved memories. It was concluded that they remember through action - raising chickens in the garden and harvesting callaloo. Naturally I began to research theories of genetic memory and 'blood memory' proposed by dancer Martha Graham. For Graham, blood memory is the innate knowledge we have of the physical experiences lived by our ancestors. Inherited memory asserts that memory is in blood and bone - that our stories are not only verbally passed down but also through a form of genetic memory. On a more visceral level, I was encouraged to analyse connections I see within my family and friends' mannerisms, according to how their past and present family were - through personality types,hobbies, interests and 'unexplainable' inclinations to certain things. As a result, I built circular canvases, replicating a traditional renaissance Tondo structure - these were used to immortalise subjects painted. Whilst also combining two common forms of preservation, painting and photography.

What advice would you share with another young creative?

When feeling lost or unsure of yourself/ your work, always remember why you started. You can never lose when trying new things.

Photos: Selected Works by Kiera Grace