Two Seychellois artists feature in the 9th Beijing International Art Biennial, China |01 February 2022

Two seasoned Seychellois artists – George Camille and Jude Ally – are taking part in the 9th Beijing International Art Biennial which opened ceremoniously on January 21, 2022 at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

The exhibition is a fabulous prelude of Beijing Olympic Winter Games and has for its theme ‘The Light of Life’.

‘The Light of Life’ contains both the Olympic spirit and the spirit for battling with the Covid-19 pandemic, and both of them highly complement each other. These two spirits embody the value, dignity, energy and glory of the human life. From the perspective of the perfect match of the Beijing Biennial and Beijing Olympic Winter Games, ‘The Light of Life’ refers not only to the light of sports, but also the light of visual art. Sports are the strong light of life while art is a bright colour of life. The Olympic Flame has the intense radiance of life, and the inspiration of art gives out the beautiful splendour of life. It spotlights the value of human life and enhances the splendour of human life.

This Beijing Biennial has attracted 573 artists from 117 countries and regions bringing a total number of 707 works, including 487 works from foreign countries. A small number of international works that are unable to be transported here are presented through the electronic screen due to the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic. But even so, it is still the largest offline international exhibition at present.

The participation of our two local artists at the exhibition has been jointly supported by the National Arts Council and Seychelles Art Foundation.

Entitled ‘Behind the Curtain’, George’s artwork discusses the topic of humanity, as if it is tentatively parting the curtain to see if it is safe to come out again. “A sense of trepidation and uncertainty still lingers within us but emerging from the confinement into the light is a necessity. It's been a very difficult few months for a lot of people across the globe, and in Seychelles we have felt especially isolated. The brightly coloured and heavily patterned curtain is the promise that we will overcome this very blue period we find ourselves in,”says George.

The mixed media collage artwork entitled ‘Loud’ by Jude, is an abstract expression related to the given theme. “My idea always bears meaning in relation to the human aspects and the quest for a better way. My work conveys a range of human conditions, from the struggles, conflicts, and all the other ‘noises’ that we portray, but underneath all that there is this light that if and when we ‘speak it’, and ‘listen as loud as we can’, we can achieve better and do better,” says Jude.

The exhibition is open to public until end of February, 2022.

Contributed