Kareem-Anthony Ferreira explores experiences of cultural divergence through his artistic practice. Informed by his experiences as a first-born Canadian with strong ties to his Trinidadian roots, Ferreira’s black portraiture investigates patterns of intersecting personal, familial and social identities.
Family photographs have emerged as primary source material for Ferreira’s works. Assembling elements of these into compositions that integrate non-indigenous, floral patterning with figures portrayed in ordinary activities, his works reflect how idealized, fictional imaginaries of Caribbean life (as embodied by stereotyped ‘island dress’ and textiles) flatten and/or strip away the layered complexities of Trinidadian identities. As he describes,
“I explore the island imaginaries through a personification of repetitive flora and fauna patterning, which sits in contrast to the emotional sincerity I convey through the human figures and expressions. My reverence for my hybridized community is conveyed through my portraits of the black body as individuals or groupings, the family unit or community gathering to participate in the everyday lived experiences.”
Internationally recognizes as a painter, we were glad for the opportunity to support a new direction for Ferreira’s work in the printmaking medium. “Untitled” presents the results of this collaborative, 14-layer silkscreen print project and an exciting expression of his visual vocabulary.
Kareem-Anthony Ferreira holds a BFA from Hamilton’s McMaster University, and an MFA from the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ in the United States. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Canada and internationally in the United States and the Caribbean. He is currently based in Hamilton, ON.
