Supriya James

"Worlds Apart"

This large, multi-disciplinary landscape painting is embedded with political and metaphysical explorations of identity, ancestral history, and temporality. Inspired by the artist's photography, it was created with Western art tools, ground turmeric and willow charcoal to reflect the artist's hybrid cultural identity and to connect the viewer to the natural environment's immediate need of stewardship.

““Worlds Apart” is a metaphysical exploration of memory, colour, and the sublime.In 2023, I returned to my country of birth, Guyana, in South America, after having immigrated to Canada 43 years ago. I wanted to test my childhood memories – memories I promised myself that I would never forget - against the realities of being physically present in this tiny, developing country located at the northern tip of South America. This was a journey made of dreams that unfolded into myriad, beautiful realities.“Worlds Apart” manifests my overwhelming joy and gratitude of being on and in the magical, tea-coloured waters of the Essequibo River that runs through the mysterious Amazonian rainforests of Guyana. My old memories colliding with new ones, the screeching parrots flying across the sky, the scorching heat, and the bright colours of the flora – all synthesized into a transcendental vision of the sublime. For me, this was Heaven on Earth.The “turmeric” yellow underpainting, an ode to Guyana’s local cuisine of various curries, reveals a composition of local boats that float on these reddish waters. These waters transported the Arawak (Lokono) peoples, their descendants, and my ancestors who initially came to Guyana from India as indentured servants. As a child, it was in these waters, I giggled and splashed amongst the tropical fish, while fishing with my father who is no longer alive. In these sublime waters, I heard the voices of my parents, uncles, aunties, and forebears I had never met.Man’s ties with nature is a thematic element in all of my works and a prompt for us to respect our environment and each other as this will make the world a better and safer place.”