Art

feature: live your life don’t sell your soul – guadeloupean visual artist anais verspan talks about her art

June 19, 2015

Meet Anais Verspan, a 35 year-old visual artist from Guadeloupe (French West Indies). She may be from a small island, but Anais possesses a deep soul and she is constantly looking for balance and self-fulfillment.

By Debbie Jonas, AFROPUNK Contributor

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When we asked Anais about her art, this is how she responded :

“When talking about art, what matters the most – I think- is the genuineness of the artist, not his or her age.  My exhibits ‘BigidiPlakata’, ‘Karata’ –t o cite a few – truly reflect my paintings.  My inspiration is drawn from deep within myself.   My inspiration is my story, my history, my culture, my people.”

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“My ancestors have proven to be creative when they where able to dance the rhythm of the Gwo Ka*, as the only way to express themselves and to feel free.  It is thus interesting, as an artist, to work from these codes.”  

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“The Guadeloupean carnival also plays an important role on my work.  I love to see how these young people get inspired by  their ancestry to create their choreography for carnival. This is a way of never forgetting how the slaves were mistreated by the masters (sugar cane or cotton plantations).  We are artists. We do not reinvent a painful history.  We write it our way!”

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“We are artists. We do not reinvent a painful history.  We write it our way! It is frustrating to limit myself to the past or to the present ; or to just fix hopes in some point in time. I live.”

To the Afropunk community she says : “Viv vi aw pa vann nanm aw! (Live your life and don’t sell your soul)”.  

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* Gwo Ka : name given to the drum and its rythm in Guadeloupe

http://www.lameca.org/dossiers/gwoka/sommair_eng.html

Photo credits : Shanon Barro, IDLine Studio

www.anaisverspanart.com

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