The Alchemist
Taisha Carrington works with many canvases. One of Barbados’ most versatile multidisciplinary artists, her mediums include painting, performance art, sculpture, body adornment, and installations.
Her work seeks to promote solidarity with the land and investigate the ‘liminality of life in the Caribbean after colonialism and into the anthropocene.’ Yes…this sounds complex so lets unpack her journey of the artist. Taisha currently works in Barbados collaborating with biochemists, farmers and medical practitioners to pool knowledge and resources and shed light on social issues.
Art is a complex dance of imagination, technical ability and story telling. All of these facets are clearly present and continuing to grow with Taisha’s creations. Still not even 30 years of age, she has a body of work that celebrates her range and passion for art. Her journey started as long ago as she can remember – she was always sketching and painting as a kid. It was her secondary schooling at Combermere School where her talent caught the eye of her art teachers and it was suggested she apply to Community College to continue her studies. There she completed her Associates Degree in Visual Arts. Next she sought to broaden her education even further and attended The Pratt Institute in New York where she gained a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Jewellery Design and Metalsmithing.
Taisha is well known for her jewellery. Her pieces are sculptural, bold and always intrinsically beautiful. She was selected by New York City Jewelry Week for their inaugural ‘One For The Future’ initiative, awarded to a CFDA+ Design Graduate by the Council of Fashion Designers of America. This prestigious award is given annually to exemplary new talent from a pool of graduates around the world.
“This was one of the most pivotal parts of my career!” she says proudly. Ten artists from across the US are selected and spotlighted though the weeklong event. As part of that she got to speak at the Museum of Art & Design renowned for having the most extensive collection of jewellery in the US. In 2022, Taisha was also named a finalist for Art Jewelry Forum’s Young Artist Award.
The common theme between her preferred art forms is a desire to convey important theses and commentary. “Art is about telling stories. I have a lot to say and the themes change from historical to present day,” she remarks confidently.
This story telling is manifested in the process of crafting her finished jewellery pieces. It all starts with materials she precisely selects as a surgeon would select their instruments. Sometimes she uses shells, which have been used historically as a symbol to pass on knowledge. Other times she expresses herself in more precious metals. There is a sense of reinvention in her approach like bringing old stories back but told with modern words. A pair of sculptural gold earrings conveys the story of Mamma Waters of African folklore. Jewellery design wasn’t her original plan but it was her sculpture professor at Pratt, who thought her creative approach lent well to jewellery creation and suggested she enrolled in a few classes. Her jewellery can now be found in the collections of The Dallas Museum of Art and Montreal’s Stewart Program for Modern Design.
Other works can be found closer to home. Taisha was commissioned to create a one of a kind mural for the South of London fashion boutique. Admired by almost every shopper that enters the boutique, it’s stunning complexity is a hot topic. The storeowners are always proud to announce it was created by a local artist.
Besides murals, Taisha loves to express herself using various sizes of canvases, mainly with acrylic paints. Her paintings focus on social and personal issues and incorporate biblical references, cultural stories and self-portraits.
One of the things she has been exploring recently is her ability to provoke thought and conversation through her performance art. All performances are in public and there is always time to gather and talk afterwards. The performances are never explained nor prescriptive but always aim to provide a situation where the viewer is given a moment to formulate new thought. She has explored various themes such as vulnerability of the Caribbean with climate change and how it affects your choices for the future.
Taisha invents ‘devices’ and explores performances to promote self-healing and facilitate social dialogue about climate justice. She produces her art forms to propose methods for rebirth, reclamation, and reimagining the value of Caribbean people and communities. In explaining the differences in her creative process between disciplines she clarifies, “Jewellery design is outward facing but the performance art is more inward facing.”
Several of Taisha’s instructors have commented on the alchemy present in her work across disciplines. It is not a quality that can be explicitly taught but emerges as an artist continues to create. Taisha’s artistic journeys weave through sourcing and connecting with the materials and the land. The way her work gently carries her stories and commentaries make the moniker of alchemist quite apt.
After returning from school in the United States she went straight back where it all began, Combermere School. This time she entered the halls as at teacher for Art & Design. “I love being part of the process of helping students to build ideas,” she reminisces. While no longer teaching at the school, she has not closed the door on the possibility of returning.
Like many talented artists navigating their path she also had moments of self-doubt. It is not easy in the Caribbean to make a living as an artist and the challenge of immersing oneself solely in their work versus getting a 9-5 is a constant. Artistic pursuits call for sacrifice and sometimes for external reassurance of the value of art and one’s personal brand.
As her career continues the accolades and opportunities are piling on. Recently she was named Guest Critic for the senior thesis presentations at the Pratt Institute Jewellery Programme as well a Curator for Metalsmith Magazine Vol. 42 No. 1 ‘Escape Artist’ exhibition. She has also been a visiting Artist Lecturer at the Rhode Island School of Design, the Metropolitan State University Denver, Colorado, and made a virtual presentation at the Art Forum in San Antonio, Texas.
So what is next for this blossoming artist? Last year saw two acquisitions of her work by galleries in Dallas and Montreal and she hopes this global recognition continues. This year she vows to spend more time at home and work on a new collection. The world awaits her next magical and transformative story told on whichever backdrop she choses.
