The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIAN artist Alexia Roach set out to push boundaries and experiment with various media for her solo exhibition “Coming Home”.

Inspired by her father’s death two years ago, the artist said she was moved to create work that demonstrated a parallel between the “spiritual and earthly sanctums of family and familiarity”.

Alexia returned home from school for the holidays to mount the exhibition at Doongalik Studios. The show brought the art gallery’s year to a close with its opening last week.

For the “Coming Home” exhibit, Alexia chose to experiment with various materials and present them in a unique way.

“What really inspired the show was the loss of my father who passed away from colon cancer. With that experience I felt a little unsure and I did not know which direction I wanted to go in. I think the programme I am in has helped to clarify what I want to do. So a lot of my work now is about hope and unity and there is a nurturing feel to it and I hope the comes across as well,” Alexia told Tribune Woman.

“While I do not consider myself an existentialist by any means, my work does centre on themes of coexistence which I express through the use of layering and gathering, both methodically and materially. Often times I find myself forcing contradictions of medium and theory to work together harmoniously, not only to bring about aesthetic cohesion, but also to make valid unlikely or unimaginable ideals, breaking the rules of convention to form my own utopia. The pieces featured in the exhibition communicate a sense of hopefulness

“This exhibition is really about getting people to realise that this is not the end all. I am going to be coming home constantly. There is a goal that I am working towards, and that goal is to show earthly pain is not the end result. I have hope that things will get better and that things will be better.”

Alexia said she has worked with bold colours and traditional mediums in the past, “but I’m very excited to introduce these serene and other-worldly pieces.”

“They are very different from what I’ve done previously, which is fitting really, because I’m such a different artist now, a different person,” she said.

This exhibition will help to assist Alexia with college expenses. She attends the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago’s Master of Design Fashion Body and Garment programme under the tutelage of Nick Cave.

The programme offers many opportunities for students like Alexia, and has been a “great experience” for the Bahamian artist thus far.

“Previously, I worked with a lot of classical mediums such as oil on canvas, charcoal on paper. I do have a very strong design aesthetic and I always have been interested in fashion and design. Mostly the designs have to do with texture and fabric material. So a lot of my new work in studio in the graduate programme has allowed me much exposure and experience. In the programme, they really encourage experimentation and expression because the fashion industry is so vast and there are so many opportunities that it opens your mind a lot to how you can communicate concepts and ideas,” she said.

Doongalik’s owner, Pam Burnside, who is also trained as a fashion designer, expressed her pleasure in hosting the exhibition since Alexia is one of her former kindergarten students.

“As a former teacher it is extremely gratifying to know that your students are pursuing their dreams, especially when it involves creativity. I feel very proud of Alexia’s success,” Mrs Burnside said.

The exhibition will remain open until January 20, 2016.

For more information, contact the gallery at 394-1886.