articles
In Motion, Black History Month Interview
“Part of capitalism’s function is to restrict our imaginations, forcing us to believe that the destructive and exploitative systems we live under are natural and are essential to our survival. For me, success is the dismantling of this belief, a renewed sense of hope for the world that we are currently creating together.”
La Trenza - The Braid at WhiteBox
“Gesiye’s video, Now That I’m a River, calls attention to the ways women’s bodies have been endangered through colonial processes, but also to how the body might be a tool of liberation, rebirth, and transformation.”
Trinidadian Film Directors Show their Work at the Barbican Cinema in London
“The Wound is a Portal, Gesiye's 11-minute short, focuses on eight Trinidadians getting a tattoo which connects them all whilst exploring their wider and more personal connection to the island."
Artist Changemaker Award Interview
“Art can be a tool for examining, decolonizing, and rewriting our narratives about our past, present, and future. It creates space for us to move forward with the awareness that change is possible and that the world is shaped by us, here and now.”
Podcast Interview: On Creativity and Rest
“Everything in nature has a cycle and rhythm. For there to be creation, there must be time for slowing down. After a period of rest, one feels the calling to contribute to society. How do we ebb and flow between the pause to reflect and reconnect, then to proceed with intention?”
Slave Owner Sir Thomas Picton’s Portrait Returns in Bid to Reframe Past
“I'm using tattooing to bring people together to share this connected story, but also to create a space where we feel safe to have these conversations about things that are usually quite painful and that we might otherwise avoid talking about.”
Trinidadian Artist Reframes Picton in New Wales Exhibition
“This healing offering is a portal, an ode to our island, to its beauty, and to our belonging. The trauma of slavery and colonialism continues to impact the African diaspora's relationship with the land. In “The Wound is a Portal,” I use Afrodiasporic healing modalities to weave a mythology of land and personhood, celebrating individual identity while creating space to acknowledge our truths and transmute our pain.”
Tattoo Artist Gesiye Souza-Okpofabri is Re-framing Picton's History
“When we are taught history, we are taught that it is true, that it is fact, and that the person who is presenting it to us is presenting the facts of what has happened in the past. But I think it is important to understand that history is a story that is being told by the people who are in power.”
New Commissions to Reframe the Legacy of Thomas Picton
“Our connection to the spaces that we are born into gives us a sense of belonging and responsibility to that land. When that connection is impacted by trauma, such as the trauma of slavery and colonialism, we develop patterns of behaviour in relationship to the land that are then passed down through generations.”
Artists Commissioned to Examine Slave Owner’s Legacy
“I envision this piece as a ritual, a healing opportunity for black Trinidadians to reconnect to self, to this island and to each other. This work is not an attempt to rewrite history, it is a disruption of the narrative that is so often held up as a singular truth.”
An Expression of Art Through Ink
“I love making art personal and accessible. I love the connections that are created through this art, and the freedom that I feel getting tattooed and creating tattoos. There’s something special about taking ownership of your body and claiming your power to adorn it in whatever way feels right for you.”
