Alanis Forde Barbadian, b. 1996
Ataraxis, 2021
oil on canvas
102 x 76 cm
This paradisiacal landscape fluctuates between the 18th century and 3rd Millennium. The title means ‘absence of mental stress or anxiety’ and ‘ataraxia’ [Greek, “lack of disturbance or trouble”] is used...
This paradisiacal landscape fluctuates between the 18th century and 3rd Millennium. The title means ‘absence of mental stress or anxiety’ and ‘ataraxia’ [Greek, “lack of disturbance or trouble”] is used to describe the ideal mental state for soldiers entering battle. This piece depicts a free proxy character with red lips and electric blue dotted skin, which Forde states appear as ‘armour’ — alluding to a successful defence against colonial subjugation in the tropical territories, known as the West Indies / Caribbean; no longer tourism-dependent. The use of blue in these proxies stemmed from an evolution of a previous series of work which painted ‘Bubbles’, a Dancehall Queen, free in their sexuality even when growing up with a family with religious and conservative values.
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