Social media is working for my network. My last conversation a month ago before the program of Caribbean Linked was on Facebook with Elvis Lopez. I never knew him before and suddenly I got a PM for this program. I directly got interested in this opportunity and replied back with my contact information.

I waited the whole month for further information and thought that I did not got selected for this program. But I had a lot to do as an artist so my intention was more on my daily work. And suddenly about 2 weeks before, checking my email and got a message from Elvis Lopez. He explained and apologized to me that he was contacting me the whole month with a wrong email. I followed all the conversations from everybody who send me a PM (personal message) saying that Elvis was trying to contact me. During this conversation I was busy organizing an exhibition in Suriname so my agenda was tight. Until I got a phone call from Elvis Lopez and after the call I was definitely sure to be part of Caribbean Linked. I could not start this program from the beginning. I thank social media, especially Facebook, for making this opportunity come true.

Caribbean Linked lll was a great and inspired experiences in my personal and artistic development. Getting in touch with motivated people/ artists from different places of the Caribbean region allowed me to understand how good it is to take a small break after the hard work to start fresh again. It was also great to learn from others about their art developments by attending great presentations.

Conversation #2

Conversation #2 is the third work of the ongoing project “Odour”. The artwork is the smell. Smell is for me an air, which you can’t see it but you can feel it and smell it. In this work, by presenting the smell as an installation, I build the table feet with the dry leaves, a table cloth and spices. I was looking for a real Aruban food, which is made of real Aruban spices. It was disappointing to use the same spices I use in my cuisine. That was the curry, pepper, garlic and cumin. So I start looking further for other inspiration. I was inspired by the nature. It was hot and dry. So I started capturing elements of the nature where I was thinking of real Aruba, the cactus, the Arikok Park, the first cave drawing, the goat and the rocks. I made a line drawing by layering all the sketches I took.

As an artist I like experimenting with this project, not only with the sense of observation, but also the sense of smell. With this project I am creating a conversation between the eyes, nose, tongue and brain. When you smell the spices you automatically experience the tingling of eating and start talking of home.

I liked to thank once again Caribbean Linked and Elvis Lopez, Holly Bynoe, and Avantia for letting me experience this great opportunity and meet great artists.

About Razia:

Razia Barsatie is a visual artist who was born in Paramaribo, Suriname. While studying at the Gerrit Rietveld  Acadamy in Amsterdam, she participated in numerous art shows and events. She is currently collaborating with Marcel Pinas in the Triennial Moengo Festival in Suriname and teaches at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy there. Through her creative practice, Razia provides a radical formulation of a kind of personal embarrassment by simply talking about it. She is happy to describe this problem as domestic, but the basic issues she is dealing with concern (repressed) fear of emotions and culturally defined power structures that dominate daily life. Razia utilises artistic and cultural intelligence to counter the almost immoveable, restrictive morality of day-to-day life, reaching out for change with an open mind.