Charmaine Watkiss
Image Courtesy of the Artist & Tiwani Contemporary
Eternal Cycles of Being
Charmaine Watkiss
“There is something mysterious about the moon which connects to the inner psyche of women, the creative nature where all potential is born.”
– Charmaine Watkiss
I cannot remember if it was Eli, my creative director, or I who first found Charmaine’s work. It seems one day we both started talking about her at the exact same time. We each were captivated by her incredible works on paper—the powerful blues she created, the feeling of past, present, and future all at once… a sort of nostalgic foreshadowing within each piece.
I so enjoyed learning more about Charmaine Witkiss and her work—both are rich with an appreciation of those who walked before, and committed to shining a light for those to come.
The Seeker
Charmaine Watkiss
Elizabeth Cheatham McNairy: Before we dive into discussing your work, I'd love to learn a bit more about you and your creative journey.
Charmaine Watkiss: I have always had a creative life. As a young child, I was constantly making things. My mum encouraged me to embroider and sew— which I was really good at. Being a curious person, I have had several creative lives: footwear designer, a brief foray into film making, and a 22-year career in digital design and advertising, which I left behind in January this year to pursue making art full-time. Around the edges I have also engaged in Theatre and Dance as modes of personal creative expression. All of these things have prepared me for where I am today and feed my ideas and my working practices. Because I have done a lot of things creatively, my references are broad and often unexpected.
EMC: Within your recent show with - I was immediately drawn to your moons and the beautiful designs you create on the clothing of the women you portray. Can you tell us a bit about the symbolism of these within your work?
CW: I view the moon as being part of the feminine principle. There is something mysterious about the moon which connects to the inner psyche of women, the creative nature where all potential is born. Of course it also connects us to the tides too, which has an ebb and flow, determining our own biorhythms…
The symbols on the clothing are numerous! For the exhibition that I am currently in, I was exploring various aspects of African cosmology, which came out of my initial research into the African origins of Caribbean religion and spirituality—so some symbols reference Adinkra symbols (Ghanaian), or motifs from Yoruba culture (Nigerian). None of my works tell a linear story because that is not the way I relate to information. I tend to work intuitively, to make connections which feel right when I am making; so the work ends up being multi-layered and therefore, open to interpretation.
I like this openness and ambiguity because it allows many access points to the work. I locate the characters that I have drawn in the cosmological realm so that I can create something which is timeless; yet, at the same time, the figures are contemporary. The overall theme for me, I guess, is about the pursuit of ancient knowledge, with the intent of having a deeper connection and understanding of the self and/or our universe. I layer ideas so that people get from the work whatever resonates with them.
Image Courtesy of the Artist & Tiwani Contemporary
Traces of memory 2
Charmaine Watkiss
Image Courtesy of the Artist & Tiwani Contemporary
Traces of memory 3
Charmaine Watkiss
EMC: There seems to often be a progression to the works you choose to share… Will you talk us through the installation shot from your group show The Abstract Truth of Things?
CW: If one were to read the drawings I made like chapters in a book, the first figure would be the opening chapter, which sets the scene and talks about knowledge which has been obscured over time—but if you dig deep and go within, you start the journey of excavation.
The two figures which follow have a dialogue between them about the retrieval of knowledge, the active figure very much asking questions around accessing that knowledge and authenticity. She wears two contrasting African patterns (Adire cloth and wax cloth), which speak about heritage and authenticity…and through wearing an ancient divination bowl on her head, she is trying to assimilate what has been handed down through generations. The static figure in the duo has always been present, throughout time and space… The stillness of the figure alluding to contemplation and making connections with multiple African cosmologies. What I feel is when you go back far enough through time, there are these connections with different traditions and lineages, as well as a deeper connection to the earth sciences… I often ask, ‘What did the ancients know that we don’t?’, because there is this perception that in our linear perspective, we must surely be more advanced than those who came before, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Civilizations come and go, and with that their technologies too… so there is much to be learned from that.
I like using symbols because they transcend language and shift the mind away from the logical, analytical into the realm of possibilities and the creative unconscious, which then brings us full circle into the function of the moon…
Knowledge Keeper
Charmaine Watkiss
Image Courtesy of the Artist & Tiwani Contemporary
The Infinite Threshold
Charmaine Watkiss
“None of my works tell a linear story because that is not the way I relate to information. I tend to work intuitively, to make connections which feel right when I am making; so the work ends up being multi-layered and therefore, open to interpretation. ”
– Charmaine Watkiss
EMC: Seeking to uncover the unconscious through ritual seems to be quite important to you and within your work. How do you go about doing that?
CW: Yes, I do engage with ritual; I have a meditation practice, so I guess I try to include some of that calm in my work. I want to connect to people in a meaningful way where I can. I write a lot too—when I write, I allow words to present themselves on the page, without thinking about it. Sometimes within these writings is a message, or a clue as to where I go next with the work. I couple this with having a dialogue with the drawings I am making. It is important to me to be authentic in that sense. People do remark that they feel a presence when they are in front of the work. We live in a hectic world, particularly now when globally, everything is in a state of flux—I hope that I inspire people to take a moment to be calm and contemplate when they are with my work.
EMC: Recently you have led a project with Young Girlz Matter called Drawing Act III. Will you tell us a bit about this work and what led you to it?
CW: I was invited by Drawing Room London (a non-profit organisation who focuses on contemporary drawing—they have a gallery space, a library and a varied exhibition and talks programme) to run workshops with a small group of year 8 girls (aged 12 years old), in conjunction with Drawing Room’s exhibition Not Without My Ghosts: The Artist As Medium. They felt that my work was a perfect fit for the themes which were explored in that show. We started the project with a tour of the exhibition with the girls and a mini workshop in the library. I created a 4-week programme of workshops based around the show and my practice. The objective was to allow the girls to express themselves in a way which connected to the unconscious; I did this through a series of fun drawing exercises and games, to get them away from their thinking, critical mind. School children are under a lot of pressure to perform, and because of the curriculum, all of their objectives are results driven. I wanted them to access the more creative side of themselves where the outcomes are unexpected. This took some getting used to, but by the end of the process they felt a lot more comfortable exploring ideas because they were inspired to. Ultimately, I wanted to create a safe space for them to start to think about what things were important to them, and to give them skills (such as creative thinking, testing ideas, gathering material), which will serve them in any career they may follow in the future. The 4 weeks culminated in them creating life-sized drawings filled with ideas, patterns and colours inspired by the preceding weeks’ exercises, and the exhibition in the gallery. There will also be a short run publication, which we are currently working on.
(You can find out about the exhibition here.)
(Work in Progress)
Charmaine Watkiss
EMC: Within your process statement, you used the term “memory stories.” Please talk to what that means to you and also expand on the value you see in ‘always looking back in order to create new projections in the present.’
CW: “Memory stories” is a term I used to describe my process of retrieval. I am interested in history, but not just linear history—and also not just physical history either. I am interested in cosmology and esoteric sciences too. All of my research and explorations involve going within. So I coined the term “memory stories” as a container for all of the things I am interested in. The way I access information also involves opening myself up to the world of the imagined, where all ideas exist, so in this sense I am accessing memory—particularly when I am making work specifically about the African Diaspora.
EMC: As we approach the New Year, what was your greatest lesson of 2020, and what are you most looking forward to in the year to come?
CW: In 2020 I have learned to be more resilient and to trust my process and vision more. This year has been completely unexpected for everyone globally— what I take from that, apart from our interconnectedness, is that I am learning to move with change instead of trying to resist it. I am looking forward to seeing where my new body of work takes me next year, and hopefully I will be able to travel too.