By Gibron Rahim

ARTISTS play a vital role in society. They safeguard our history and, in their individual fields of expertise, create visions of our future. Creating opportunities for them to share their work with us is vital with M.A.C Fest, held this past August 18 at Merriman’s Mall, being an excellent example of an event to empower artists and create a sense of community. Godlyn Lyte was one of the artists present at the M.A.C Fest Vendor Village.
Godlyn told the Pepperpot Magazine that she has always been an artist. She explained that both her mother and father are artists. Art for Godlyn began as a hobby that, over time, grew and became a profession. She recalled, “After I graduated high school in 2014, in September of that same year, I saw other people selling their artwork.” Godlyn was inspired to give it a try for herself. “So I did a few paintings and I actually sold my first three paintings in a matter of a week of completing them,” she said. That reception motivated Godlyn to start her art career.

Paintings are Godlyn’s usual form of artistic expression. She has also recently been experimenting with sculpture. “I wanted to do something a little bit different and something that kind of assisted with recycling,” she explained. This has led to her working with papier-mâché to create sculptures. Two of the first pieces she ever created were on display at M.A.C Fest, including a piece featuring representations of three distinct and vibrantly painted female orishas from the Yoruba religion. “But usually I do dwell in acrylic painting.”

Godlyn’s pieces focus on inspiring women of colour, as she noted. She said her goal is to get them to be more accepting of and comfortable with themselves in their natural state. Her pieces also focus on showing people of colour in surrealist environments. The pieces draw the eye and encourage deeper contemplation on their layers of meaning.

According to Godlyn, events such as M.A.C Fest highlight creatives, especially in the case of Guyana. She noted that she has participated in similar events in the past. “I don’t think we have enough [events] that shine light on artists so being part of something like that,” she said, “whether it’s big or small, is always a great experience for me personally because it’s always an opportunity for people to see your work and know what you do and see a different side of what Guyana can produce.”

Godlyn emphasised the need for more events like M.A.C Fest. “We need events like that so people can see the creative arts that the country can produce because we don’t have much like that, we don’t have much that focuses on the artists in Guyana,” she said emphatically. She noted that if we continue to invest in similar events it will help to expand the creative industry and aid in allowing people to have full-time careers in the arts, instead of having to practice part-time due to financial circumstances. “These kinds of events help build up the creatives so that they themselves can continue doing what they love.”

As with all artists, Godlyn’s creative endeavours require that she maintains keen focus. She explained, “I kind of try to seclude myself from everything else so that there’s no choice or no other option but for me to pursue my work.” She related that she considers being an artist as almost a life or death choice. “I don’t feel comfortable doing anything else,” she elaborated. “It’s really difficult for me to have a focus on doing anything else besides what I love.” She noted that determination decides how far an artist will be able to go with their creativity.

Artistic expression is important. “It’s definitely a wonderful form of expressing whatever you might not be able to say verbally,” said Godlyn. She related that she has seen artists express meaning hidden just beneath the surface of their pieces. Art can be therapeutic. “I’ve actually done research before and actually learned that it is a form of therapy for people who have depression,” said Godlyn, also noting that art is being used therapeutically to help sufferers of other forms of mental illness and those going through trauma. Art therapy is a recognised form of therapeutic technique. “It can be something that’s soothing for the mind, that’s soothing for the person for whatever reason that they have.”