Your Presence Does Not Escape Me: Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin and Tessa Mars

9 May - 3 June 2023
  • Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).
    Charmaine Watkiss, Delita Martin & Tessa Mars,Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, Tiwani Contemporary, London, 10 May - 3 June 2023. Courtesy of the artist and Tiwani Contemporary. (Larger version of this image opens in a popup).

  • TIWANI CONTEMPORARY
    Gallery 6
    Cromwell Place
    4 Cromwell Place
    London, SW7 2JE

    Please join us for the opening event:
    Tuesday 9 May | 6 pm - 8 pm

     

    Tiwani Contemporary is delighted to announce the group presentation, Your Presence Does Not Escape Me, featuring gallery artist Charmaine Watkiss (United Kingdom) together with Delita Martin (United States) and Tessa Mars (Rep. of Haiti). The exhibition considers the centrality of drawing to the three artists’ practice, in its original expression and as prospection for other forms - painting, printmaking and sculpture - while exploring shared themes of spirituality, mythology and Black womanhood in bodies of work that centre both  real and fictional protagonists.

  • Figurative painter Tessa Mars depicts mythologies of her own invention to explore Haitian identity. Depictions of a female alter ego named Tessalines, inspired by the Haitian revolutionary leader Jean-Jacques Dessalines (1758-1806, Haiti’s first Head of State) has been the main subject of her work for many years. A character developed in order to explore Mars’ critical responses to patriarchy, in this new body of work, Mars has ‘killed off’ Tessalines and reflects on the aftermath of her ‘death’, and the coming together of other pivotal figures in her own life, most significantly her grandmother, Ayida. The starting point for the body of work is the powerful painting ‘Daughter of Ayida’, which explores the artist’s complex relationship with her grandmother, and the country’s folkloric and spiritual traditions. In the Haitian Vodou pantheon, Ayida is the name of  the important ‘serpent rainbow’ spirit and the painting's central figure also represents connection to land and ancestors over time and space, a particular preoccupation for the artist following her move to Europe and geographic separation from her family.

     

    These are paintings that speak to the strength of familial bonds, family conflict and reconciliation, to accepting the fullness of those closest to us while recognising generational patterns and how these repeat themselves. Serpentine tendrils and roots are a motif of the series, along with islands, oceans, and the in-between spaces where sea and shore meet. In her new works, swamplands, places where the earth is permanently saturated with water, are ambiguously and confusingly depicted by Mars’ so that what is one and what is the other is not immediately obvious to the viewer but left for them to decipher. Referencing the Climate Emergency-induced rising sea levels in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti, Mars symbolically poses the question whether, in the face of the advancing water, are the island and her people literally and figuratively ready to swim together against the rising tide?

  • The exhibition journeys from Haiti to elsewhere in the Americas, to Texas-born and based mixed-media artist Delita Martin and her dynamic depictions of African-American womanhood and the spirit world, what she calls the ‘Veilscape’. The Veilscape consists of four main elements: duality, freedom from oppression, transformation, and connection to ancestors. It is a powerful tool that has been embraced by generations of African-American women journeying towards self-empowerment, a tool that nurtures their power and potential.

     

    Freedom from oppressive systems - racism and misogyny - and transformation enable women to move beyond the limitations and expectations imposed upon them by society and instead tap into their full potential. Duality is the idea that there are two realms within Spirit World, one that is seen and one that is unseen. This idea has been prevalent among African Americans for centuries as a way to cope with racism. By embracing both the seen and unseen aspects of life, Black women have found ways to deal with both the physical and emotional barriers they have had to face throughout history. Martin embraces this idea not only as a key part of her spiritual practice but her artistic practice as well, using it to allow the women in her work to step into their power in both realms. 

     

    The works, made using multiple media, seek to reinforce the bonds amongst women and the ways in which they co-exist in both the physical world of nature as well as the spiritual realm. Like Mars, a connection to one's ancestors is significant to Martin, a lens through which her figures are able to recognise their place in a larger narrative, by connecting with their foremothers who faced similar struggles. In this series of portraits, through the layering of various mediums and symbols, Martin pulls the viewer out of the logical world and places them within a space that offers a glimpse into sacred meetings between women in the spiritual world.

  • Spiritual sustenance is also a core theme in British artist Charmaine Watkiss’ new series of fictional portraits. These drawings speak to the beauty and diversity of our natural world, in particular the flora and fauna of the African continent and her figures are presented as keepers of ancient knowledge, with all of them carrying seed pouches on their arms. Watkiss comments in this series on the fragility of plant life - plants have been colonised for profit in much the same way humans have been -  and her figures, embodiments of aspects of Mother Nature, wear the seed pouches to ensure their futures: Both plants and women are connected to the divine order of things as, ultimately, nature always finds a way to survive and thrive.

     

    Formally the portraits echo the portraiture of the colonial era, with all of the figures sharing the same regal pose, each one depicted with foliage around her neck, alluding to the high-necked blouses worn by Victorian and Edwardian women in such portraits. Watkiss’ figures do not regard the viewer or perform for a gaze, rather they are in their own power, refuting the possessive colonial glare that desires to possess whatever it sees. These women say, “you can look but you cannot possess”.

     

    For Watkiss, drawing is a medium that allows her to portray the delicacy and femininity of Black women - qualities often denied to them in racialised portrayals - as well as their strength. This duality, together with ideas of generational inheritance and spirituality manifests across the bodies of work presented by Watkiss, Martin and Mars. An exhibition bringing together three inspiring artists from the Black Atlantic together for the first time, Your Presence Does Not Escape Me is a compelling exploration of some of the many facets of contemporary Black female selfhood and identity.

     

  • About the artists

     

    Tessa Mars

    Tessa Mars (b. 1985) is a Haitian visual artist born and raised in Port-au-Prince. She completed a Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts at Rennes 2 University in France in 2006 after which she returned to live and work in Haiti. Mars's work has been shown recently in the exhibitions "Who Tells a Tale adds a Tail" (2022) at the Denver Art Museum, “One month after being known on that island” (2020), at the Kulturstiftung Basel H. Geiger and in her solo show "Île modèle - Manman zile - Island template" (2019), with le Centre d’Art in Port-au-Prince. Mars is an alum of the Rijksakademie Van Beeldende Kunsten (2020-2022) and now resides in The Netherlands.

     

    Mars’ body of work presents her efforts to reconnect to a Haitian perspective of the world that is separate from colonial narratives about Haiti. She investigates the legacy of the Haitian revolution and is interested in the spirituality that accompanies Haitians through their various journeys on Haitian soil and outside of it. Further interests explored in her practice include the role of women in narrating and transmitting knowledge and skills and the process of building the communal/building identity.

     

    Mars’ alter ego Tessalines, based on the ‘father’ of Haiti Dessalines, allows the artist to insert herself - literally - into the unfolding of time/space/History. The character represents a link between past and present, a tool to challenge ideas around women’s contribution to public life, and the silences and omissions that have been institutionalised. Tessalines allows for alternate readings of events on a national and public level but also on a personal and  familial one, too.

     

    Delita Martin
    Delita Martin (b. 1972) creates large-scale prints onto which she draws, sews, collages, and paints. Martin claims space for her subjects, particularly black women, creating a powerful presence that simultaneously highlights the historical absence of black bodies in Western art. Through her work, Martin aims to create a new iconography for African Americans based on African tradition, personal recollections, and physical materials.

     

    A recurring theme throughout Martin’s work is exploring interconnections between past and present generations. She conveys these connections through symbols such as circles, a shape representative of the moon and symbolic of the female, and birds, which represent the human spirit. Masks, inspired by the Sowei and Ife masks of West Africa, appear in many of Martin’s works, signifying the transition between this world and the spirit world. Her use of colour is also symbolic, particularly the colour blue, which she associates with spirituality.

     

    Additionally, Martin incorporates materials and imagery linked to her personal memory, and likens this process to quilting, a skill she learned from her grandmother. Expertly layering all of these elements, Martin visualises the liminal space between the physical and spiritual worlds.

     

    Charmaine Watkiss
    Charmaine Watkiss (b. 1964) lives and works in London, where she was born to Jamaican parents. Her work is concerned with what she calls ‘memory stories’. She creates these stories primarily through research connected to the African Caribbean diaspora, and then maps the stories onto life sized figures. She draws herself only as a conduit to relay stories which speak about a collective experience; starting with a theme then allowing intuition and a dialogue with the work to take over.

     

    Pencil and paper are her main materials of choice, and as the work develops she often includes other materials such as watercolour, wax, ink, coloured pencil etc. She uses this layering of material as a way of weaving additional narratives into the work, allowing the material to speak in a way that the drawing itself can't. Drawing is central to her practice, and she uses the language of drawing when executing works in other media such as video, and printmaking.

    Charmaine’s work has recently shifted more towards tracing African ancestral traditions which have survived the transatlantic; the stories, rituals and customs which have become a part of Caribbean culture and have now adapted again as the diaspora move beyond the Americas into the western world. Her memory stories shift between the archeological, the cosmological and the historical spaces - always looking back in order to create a new projection in the present.

     

     

  • Works