The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

TO illustrate and celebrate the sacred bond that exists between a mother and daughter, Bahamian ceramicist Jessica Colebrooke is presenting her 2014 Mother & Child exhibition, subtitled “Growing Together”.

The ceramic works exhibit opens at Hillside House this Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

When she held the first Mother & Child exhibition back in 2010, Jessica said was very conscientious about creating work that reflected and depicted the theme.

However, last year’s exhibition, “A New Beginning”, allowed her to make somewhat of a departure from the topic. She said she no long felt locked into producing work solely around one theme.

And it was the work by her nine-year-old daughter, Erin – specifically her drawings of family and friends – that led Jessica to push beyond her usual boundaries.

Jessica said the pieces in her past Mother & Child exhibitions were more figurative and exhibited her interest in African art and the Bahamian-African diaspora. She said Erin’s pieces depict her curiosity in many ethnic groups, images of popular girls on television, such as on Nickelodeon, and her love for dressing up.

“It helps her with understanding and having an appreciation for who she is, her skin colour and her hair. At this age, nine years, that becomes an issue, and the fact that she attends Queen’s College further impacts her struggling to figure out how she fits in the world as a ‘black’ girl. Yes, this is and always will be an issue for many young girls growing up, not just my girls, and so I am glad that we are able to discuss this issue through art,” said Jessica.

In “Growing Together”, Jessica said her youngest daughter, CeCe, decided to join the team, adding all her creative fun to the studio work and in the preparation of the upcoming exhibition.

“CeCe at this point is just focused on things in her life that are impactful and basically her rock, like having both of her parents, her friendships, her love for pets, her love for her sister and family, aunts and uncles. Basically her tiles are like little love notes. It was purely her desire to want to participate, and not initiated by her sister or myself in any way. I must say though, that it perhaps came about as a result of her wanting to keep up with her big sis,” she said.

Jessica said her daughter Erin is now at a point where she can handle herself pretty efficiently in the studio, but still needs supervision and assistance with her ceramics, as this is a very technical and scientific craft.

“You have to know exactly what you’re doing, especially in the construction stage, in order for your pieces to survive. I oversee the technical aspects; she does all the creative. funky stuff. Also, with us creating work we learn each other’s strengths, our temperaments, and we encourage each other with our creative choices. When I am working on some of my pieces, I actually ask CeCe and Erin’s opinions. Children are brutally honest, so they have been the best critics of my work. It does not matter that I am mommy; if it looks awkward or incorrect, they give it to me straight and I like that about them,” said Jessica.

While the first Mother &Child exhibition, held at her Tileworks Studio and Gallery, was successful, Jessica said the decision to relocate to Hillside House was motivated by the aim of displaying her art in a space that is more central and accessible, not only to locals, but to tourists as well.

“It is essentially becoming even more important for the Bahamas to lift, expose and celebrate the talents that this country holds to the world. My view, based on the people that I do business with and those persons that I connect with internationally, is that the visual, performing and culinary arts really hold the key to how successful this country will become to the world in the years to come, especially in regards to tourism,” said Jessica.

In addition to having patrons attend the exhibit to see the growth and the depth of the works on display this year, Jessica said she would like for people to come out and celebrate how significant the bond of parent and child, mother and daughter is.

“Children are gifts from God. As parents it is our duty to teach them and lead them through life in order for them to become confident and self-sufficient people. With whatever gifting God has given you, it is imperative to share that with your child/children. If they decide to use it or not, it would be their choice, but giving them the knowledge, the gift only strengthens their future and their ability to navigate through this competitive world,” she said.

Jessica said each piece in the exhibition tells a story and she encourages art enthusiasts of all ages to come and see the show.
On display you will find seven sculptures by Erin, six tiles by CeCe and 15 pieces by Jessica. All of the pieces are made of stoneware or terracotta clays and are three dimensional or wall-hanging. The show will run until May 17.