By Jasmaine Payne

Though born in the French island of Martinique, artist and instructor Elodie Cage-Smith considers herself to be very much Guyanese, having lived, studied and worked in Guyana over the last 10 years. Elodie, who is also married to a Guyanese, absolutely loves Guyana. This love can be seen in various aspects of her work, where the country’s map, flag and bits of its culture along with aspects of Caribbean history are interwoven into her pieces that are currently on display at the National Art Gallery Castellani House. These pieces are part of her first solo exhibition ‘Portals amidst the deep’ which opened on December 5 and runs until January 11, 2020.

“How I see my art in general is very special. Portals allow you to travel and defy time and space and this is what I do when I paint. My paintings allow me and allow those who view it to travel through time and through history, particularly Caribbean history,” Elodie told the Pepperpot Magazine.

A walk through the halls of Castellani House reveals a common theme of wealth and Afrocentrism, all of which are intermingled with deep shades of blue and rich gold tones to create an ethereal finished product. Each piece is also uniquely textured using mixed media- a technique that Smith admitted she loved working with.

“Mixed media add vibrancy to the work and create a lot of contrast. Most of my paintings have dark backgrounds and I am a lover of gold. I like my paintings to look like me; the way I aspire to be – they are gold, rich; they look wealthy so while talking about history I also want to pay attention to the beautiful aesthetic that the Caribbean has in my mind,” Elodie said.

The artist stated that in a place where she speaks a language that is not her mother-tongue, art also serves as the perfect communication tool. “Art has allowed me to express myself. This is the best way I communicate with others. When I paint, I am in my zone and I can be myself and express myself the best,” she said.

Elodie has also spent years as an art instructor at the University of Guyana (UG), which means that she works in a place that constantly gives her motivation for her own work. She stated that she sees a lot of great potential coming out of the Guyanese students, adding that she is honoured to be in a position where she can see them develop and grow.

“It’s all about conversation and sharing ideas and having goals and putting a lot of research and purpose into creating art so we want to modernise things and especially give a voice to art in Guyana,” she said. However, she noted that it is sometimes hard to judge creativity since everyone has their own perception of the world and expresses it accordingly. “This is why as an instructor it is always good to have that conversation with the student. It is good to see them projecting their goal and allowing the work to unveil and unfold so the part where it feels like it slips, when you make a mistake sometimes what they call a mistake is the most beautiful part in the painting. So it’s about having ideas and having a goal but also allowing the piece to express itself,” she said.

About the exhibition
Elodie is excited to be hosting her first solo exhibition. Previously, her work was shown at UG and the E.R. Burrowes School of Art alongside others but showing at the Castellani House is a real honour for her, she said. “The exhibition has seen a great response so far. I feel like people have identified with the work. Guyana is part of the Caribbean and there is richness and wealth in the painting and a lot of history. I believe they identify with what is being shown here. Castellani is a beautiful place. I am happy to have people come and look at my pieces and experience what art is and we can have a conversation and learn from this,” she said.

For the new year, Elodie has much in store for her work but plans on revealing these later. In the meantime, she encourages persons to visit Castellani house to get a first-hand experience of travelling through time, space and Caribbean History through her works of art.