Bernard Hoyes believes that art can make a difference, and his creations - especially his latest output - attest to this view.
Hoyes, an
acclaimed Jamaican-born, US-based painter and sculptor, is increasingly using
his work to redefine public spaces, in addition to portraying his Caribbean background
and vision. He ranks among the lead artists in “Paint the City”, for instance,
a project organized by the Jamaican non-profit group Kingston Creative that has transformed sections of the island’s capital through bold, colourful murals.
“The idea for
this work has its roots back in the Eighties, when I took part in an exhibition
with another artist, hanging paintings in buildings that had been burnt out in
the political violence of the 1970s,” Hoyes told SWAN. “From that time,
the issue of Kingston Restoration was a matter of restoring architectural icons downtown. But the
painting of the murals organized by Kingston Creative three years ago sparked a
certain momentum where other things started to happen, such as the decision to
create the sculptures.”
The Mating
Dance is the first
sculpture commissioned for Kingston’s “Walking Museum Project”, part of another restoration initiative, funded by local
and international bodies including the European Union.
Difficulties occurred,
however, after the completion and during the installation process because of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hoyes
said. First, his trip to Kingston from his home and work base in California was
delayed because he contracted the coronavirus and had to spend two months recuperating.
Then, the time it took to clear the sculpture through customs in Kingston was
much longer than expected because of lockdowns, following the transportation across the seas in a shipping
container.
When the work
was finally up, the Port Authority tweeted on May 19 that it “was more than
honored to provide the space for this amazing sculpture that is aimed at
beautifying the downtown area and making it an attractive tourist destination”.
For Hoyes, who
grew up in downtown Kingston, these public art projects are a way to give
something back to the community of his childhood, after a successful global career.
He said he was inspired by the Jamaican national motto “Out of Many One People”
and the fact that the hummingbird is the national symbol.
The sculpture’s
120-pound steel birds sit atop a 12-foot-high double helix, and this “speaks to
the procreation of all species, reminding us that we share the same DNA,” Hoyes
said.
Known primarily
for his vivid paintings of women singing and dancing in revivalist
celebrations, Hoyes has long had an interest in sculpture, even as his
paintings were being collected by personalities such as Oprah Winfrey and
Natalie Cole.
“I’ve made my
reputation as a painter, but when I started out as a youth in Jamaica, I used
to carve little wooden heads, so I was already into the 3-D exposure when I was
in high school,” he told SWAN. “Then when I moved to California, I
realized that sculpture took a lot of start-up money, and as I was very
transient at first, I found it easier to roll up canvases and carry them with
me.”
He returned to
sculpture in 2002, embarking on a residency in China seven years later, and refitting his
studio in California to make it more suitable for monumental projects.
Arts observers
say that the more than 60 murals to date have changed the ambience of areas
long-considered no-go zones because of neglect, crime and gang warfare - even
if much more still needs to be done economically to help residents.
Andrea
Dempster-Chung, the Executive Director of Kingston Creative, told SWAN
that it has been “a huge honour” for the Downtown Kingston Art District to have
“public artworks by an artist of Hoyes’ calibre”.
“Hoyes was
raised in Downtown Kingston, in a community called Kingston Gardens and so he
is of this community,” Dempster-Chung said in an email interview. “He is a
local artist that migrated and succeeded in the US, where he is primarily
recognized as a contemporary painter whose work evolves from a highly intuitive
space. He is heralded for his ability to capture spiritual realms on canvas in
radiant and brilliant essence.”
“Arts and
placemaking can also generate employment, regenerate urban areas in a balanced
and inclusive way and support reduction in crime, all of which would be amazing
outcomes for Jamaica,” Dempster-Chung said.
She told SWAN that once Hoyes had heard of the project, which was launched in 2018, he wanted to get involved.
“Bernard contacted us online, then came in person to an event and volunteered to paint the very first mural in the Art District,” Dempster-Chung recalled.
Artists who
supported Hoyes in painting this mural included Jeanna Lindo, Alec Champanie
and Osemere Ehikhametalor.
“We did this mural all in one week,” Hoyes told SWAN. “We started like on the Wednesday and finished up on the Sunday. But there were a lot of other artists that had individual murals, so we all worked together during that period. It has been an incredible experience.”
PHOTO credit: Doris Gross. Images (top to bottom): Bernard Hoyes with The Mating Dance of the Hummingbirds; the sculpture at night; one of Hoyes' iconic paintings; the mural Hoyes spearheaded.
For an earlier profile of Bernard Hoyes, see:
https://southernworldartsnews.blogspot.com/2013/10/jamaican-artist-soars-through-magical.html
