Vincy artists graduate from Cuban university

A bold, sculptured piece of an avocado, whose seed is the fully formed fetus of an unborn child now adorns a hospital in the town of San Antonio de los Banos, just outside Havana, the creation of Vincentian plastic arts student Shanelle Bascombe.{{more}}

This sculpture, which will forever link St. Vincent and the Grenadines with Cuba, marks the culmination of four years of study in the plastic arts, undertaken by the first three Vonnie Roudette protégées: Shanelle Bascombe, Roland Layne and Maxanne Rock, in the Republic of Cuba.

Bascombe, who specialized in Sculpture, Layne in Screen Printing and Rock, Painting, all successfully presented and defended their final year art thesis from the Eduardo Abela School of Art, San Antonio de los Banos, June 7 and 8. They graduated on Wednesday, June 22.

Shanelle, who captured the award for Best Sculpture Student in her graduating class, explored the difficult choice women face between life and abortion in a performance which featured a display of broken eggshells, each containing miniature sculptured fetuses strewn on the pathway leading to and surrounding the area where she delivered her presentation. This thesis demonstrated the depth of creativity and questioning of societal problems by this young woman, who now aspires to continue studies at the prestigious Higher Institute of Art (ISA) in Havana, the premier institution for the study of art and music in the Caribbean, for which she is now seeking financing.

Roland Layne specialized in Screen Printing, and for his final year project employed the little used xilography techniques in his depiction of the spirit of carnival over eight pieces of intricate and vividly coloured pieces. His thesis, which included other presentation techniques such as video, digital art and performance, earned him a distinction. He plans to return home to build on the knowledge and experience gained in Cuba and hopes to find a favourable environment for his skills.

Maxanne Rock, the third artiste who specialized in Painting, dealt with the evolution of women in Vincentian society since Independence, in all areas of life, including business and politics and featured three major pieces which all demonstrated use of mixed technique. His presentation also featured video and digital art and performance to earn him as well maximum points. Rock, too, plans to return home after graduation.

Ambassador Dexter Rose, who was present on both days of presentations, thanked the staff of the school for their hard work with SVG’s first art graduates from Cuban institutions and said he looked forward to seeing a deepening of the relationship with Cuba in the area of the arts to include SVG’s learning resource centers and schools being able to employ trainers from Cuba to impact on more budding artists. He also paid tribute to the work of art teacher Vonnie Roudette who helped mould the talents of the three graduating artists.