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New art gallery opens at Roche Caiman |02 July 2022

New art gallery opens at Roche Caiman

Five local artists have teamed up to open a new art gallery at Roche Caiman.

‘Dream Gallery’ is a collaboration between local artists Isham Rath, Peter Lalande, Laurent Alis, Alyssa Adam and Tristan Adam and the owner of KeyFrame Seychelles, Tamara Maurel.

The gallery, which is housed in the newly constructed building next to Fresh Cuts butchery, was officially opened yesterday in the presence of President Wavel Ramkalawan among a host of other distinguished guests.

Ms Maurel explained that the idea behind the gallery is to make local artists’ arts a bit more affordable to the public “so that the average working person can come in and appreciate local art, hang it on their wall at a lower cost”.

The gallery is small but fits five artists comfortably which offers limited edition prints and a more affordable art side.

The five artists had the opportunity to guide the guests on a tour of the gallery to showcase their work.

Isham Rath, a twenty-five-year-old renowned artist, proudly displayed his prints of flock pieces all done by using pen.

He said he prefers using pen as his tool as he feels that it is faster and at the same time risky as any mistake will require restarting from the beginning.

He stated that this brings a sort of thrill to it.

Isham highlighted that the first contract he ever got in regard to drawing was to make a bird checklist and he had to visit Denis Island to take pictures of birds.

He stated that this was when he fell in love with the different aesthetic of bird species and became fascinated with their characteristics.

He further added that this was why he decided to go with these pieces as it was the first thing that came to mind and thus an easy choice.

Isham, who is also a famous singer, noted that it took him a month to get his pieces together.

Peter Lalande, also a renowned name in the art world, displayed his ‘zenerasyon mayok’ collection which is an avant-garde cartoon type art showcasing the lives of the local fishermen.

Lalande said it is a technique he has been developing for quite some time called ‘jazz’ whereby he plays with the movement and exaggerated lines.

He added that his approach is one that is nostalgic as the collection features traditional fishers.

He added that as this year is also the year of artisanal fishing he wanted to showcase a collection that touches the aspect of traditional fishers.

Alyssa Adam, another artist whose art is displayed at Dream Gallery, said it has been an exciting event and she feels emotional as she always wanted to have somewhere closer to town to display her art as well as have her art displayed alongside other artists’ and being part of the community.

She added that when she was approached by Ms Maurel she was happy about it as the gallery is right next to the KeyFrame shop so that customers can have the option to have their newly purchased items to get framed at any size.

She said this was an opportunity to mingle with the other artists and coming together to help one another is immense as well as making it more affordable for potential clients.

Adam also gifted President Ramkalawan with a tie from her clothing collection which the president sported right away to show his support for local artists.

Ms Maurel noted that this was a dream that was born a couple of years ago and it finally came to life, being able to sell affordable local art and limited edition art. The gallery is open Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm and Saturday from 9.30am to 12.30pm. Artists interested in being featured at the gallery can contact her at Keyframe Seychelles to see if any slots are open.

The accompanying photos show some highlights of the opening ceremony yesterday.

 

Marla Simeon

Photos by Louis Toussaint

 

 

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