Akilah Watts

Lives and works in Barbados

Artist statement

I am interested in depicting a black Barbadian experience. My work focuses a lot on my own personal experience as a black Barbadian Artist but I also touch on a more general Caribbean experience in some of my works. I use imagery such as fruits and vegetables I would have grown up seeing, Barbadian folklore character(Mother Sally), seascapes and landscapes as well as many prints traditionally found on fabric in old Barbadian homes. My main goal is to instill a feeling of Nostalgia and or curiosity in the people who view my work. I want the viewer to be entranced in a style of Caribbean art that feels familiar but still relatable. One new body of my work features a character that I call the “Acretia”, she is a spiritual entity whose continence bestows confidence, grace, and beauty on whomever she inhabits. When a person is inhabited by the Acretia they take on a look of regality which intern makes the viewer pay attention to the message being conveyed. My newest body of work focuses on bridging the gap between the realistic and the idealistic view of my island Barbados.

Artwork