June 7 - August 23, 2021
Notions of Self
Leasho Johnson
Dominique Knowles
Heino Schmid
Tessa Whitehead
Notions of Self reflects on selfhood and identity within a neo-colonial world. The works on view reflect on the commonalities of identification markers that exist within the Caribbean, and the constrictions or possibilities for expansion that influence each artists’ creative process. The title also alludes to the deep and meditative ephemerality asserted in the mixed media works, giving evidence to the highly complex realities of Caribbean identities.
“The underlying theme within the work reveals a sense of multiculturalism that is present when we think about Caribbean identity, and how that doesn’t allow us to be defined in singular, or fixed ways,” says Jodi Minnis, TERN Gallery Manager and curator of Notions of Self. “As Caribbean artists, there is often room to expand, contract, contort and re-present ourselves as necessary. Within Notions of Self there is a sense of confidence and certainty in this opportunity where each artist exists as many things all at once.”
As a group show, Notions of Self plays at both individuality and multiplicity, allowing each artist to be all of who they are at once, sharing a common thread of courage, vulnerability, and honesty.
Leasho Johnson
Johnson is a visual artist working in paintings, collage, sculpture, street art, and digital medium. He was born in Jamaica and uses his experience growing up black, queer, and male to explore concepts around forming identity and the postcolonial condition.
Dominique Knowles
Knowles is a visual artist working in painting and video. He is known for his large-scale colourfield works, which oscillate between abstraction and figuration, compounding genres into a poetic configuration of light and shadow.
Heino Schmid
Schmid is Bahamian with German heritage. A versatile artist, he uses a variety of mediums—including painting, drawing, collage, film and photography—to drive his creative process of visual deconstruction and cultural analysis.
Tessa Whitehead
Whitehead is a Bahamian painter whose work touches on many bold themes including matriarchal identification, alienation, and marriage.