This year’s selected festival image is entitled Yellow Light by award winning local artist, Nneka Jones. Nneka grew up in Trinidad and Tobago and recently graduated with a BFA and minor in Marketing from the University of Tampa in May 2020. Her most recent achievement was a commission from TIME magazine to produce the cover artwork for the August 31st/September 7th issue 2020. The festival image is celebrated each year on all festival promotions, the t-shirt and poster.
Yellow Light Statement The viewer is urged to stop, slow down and appreciate not only the beauty of these portraits but the intensity of their eyes and how that is used as a symbol for authority. “Yellow Light”, the focal piece in the Targets Variegated series, combines symbolism and realism in the form of mixed media to produce a detailed portrait of a young girl. The marriage of the bold colors, red and yellow require you to stop and slow down focusing on the figure. She is presented with her face slightly turned to the right and a hypnotic gaze that grasps your attention. The side profile reinstates the idea of authority and control, emphasizing that she is no longer a victim. This is complemented by the repetition of circular shapes that appear to be a target but are divided and overlapped by her stance. Instead, the bold yellow band makes reference to religious figures, metaphorically proclaiming her importance in society and the need for her to be protected.
Furthermore, the raw embroidery fibers cascading off the canvas are used to remind the viewer of the real and raw reality and the need to break the cycle. This call for change and the protection of our women and young girls are intertwined in the fibers of the artwork using the hand embroidery technique. Each detail is hand stitched and every stitch is an act of intention towards positive social change and the hope that art activism can continue to spread awareness and protect our women and girls.
About Nneka Jones
My fascination and obsession with Art are deeply rooted in my Trinbagonian background. For the past few years, I have been using Art as a channel to create a more intimate connection between the melting pot that is the Caribbean and the rest of the world. My artwork mimics our human experiences of everyday life with the aim of capturing the most realistic and pure versions of these encounters. Thereby creating a space in which I engage my mind, hands and eyes to create a narration that is translated to the viewer in the form of a 2D or 3D work of art. In the end, I have satisfied my “cravings to create” and I can safely say, “Goodbye Cravings. Hello Art!”
Learn more about Nneka Jones at her website: https://www.artyouhungry.com/.