by Josée Thissen-Rojer

The current COVID-19 pandemic has shaken up everyone’s daily lives to some extent, and things are no different in the visual arts sector. In this series, we visit local visual artists and ask what changes they’ve experienced and how they’re dealing with the situation. This time, we’re talking to Ashley Mauricia. Because strict measures related to the pandemic are currently in place, we have our conversation online. 

Ashley Mauricia (Aruba, 1961) is 26 years old when he receives a grant from the Curaçao government, which allows him to attend an art academy in Venezuela. The first two years, he takes classes in Caracas at the Escuela de Artes Visuales Cristobal Rojas. His exceptional talent and sense of discipline do not go unnoticed. At the recommendation of his school, he completes his education at the prestigious Universidad de Los Andes in Mérida (Venezuela).

In 1991, he returns to Curaçao and establishes himself as an artist. Over the years, he undertakes many projects. He exhibits, teaches at the (then) Akademia di Arte, has an art gallery for many years, and creates programs about visual art ‘Arte pa Tur’ for radio and television. In 2013, Ashley is the driving force in the organization of the national ‘The Longest Painting’ project, which takes place on July 1st of that year. The three-day event is part of the 150-year commemoration of the abolition of slavery in the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

A canvas is stretched on the surface of Helmin Wiels Boulevard, from the roundabout at Piscadera to the Aqualectra building at Mundo Nobo. The painting themed ‘Nature and I in Liberty’ is 2 kilometers long, and is completed with the help of many sponsors and volunteers, as well as local and international artists. Ashley’s successful event will go down as a Caribbean record, because of the length of the painting.

When the pandemic reaches Curaçao in March 2020 and the lockdown is announced, Ashley has just lost his job as a drawing teacher. He’s at home and the lockdown is keeping him there. His unemployment and the tensions brought about by the pandemic throw him off balance. When his sister and brother also die during this period, Ashley’s grief becomes overwhelming. 2020 is really a disastrous year for him.

Over time, as Curaçao gets a better grasp on the pandemic situation, he manages to regain his composure. After the lockdown, going to his studio is not an option, because there’s no electricity there. More importantly, during the lockdown, vandals broke into his studio and caused a lot of destruction there. So, he is forced to work from home. He makes several new statues of coral stone for his series ‘Members of the Stone Tribe’. In hindsight, he realizes that working on those coral stone statues actually helped him get through that difficult period.

Ashley’s next step is to get electricity back at his studio in Punda. He organizes a drive-through barbecue for friends and acquaintances, and by doing this, he manages to raise enough money to install an electrical panel. As of February, he’s back in his studio, painting full-time, and his productivity skyrockets.

The work he creates is not related to COVID-19, the pandemic has hurt him too deeply for that. He goes back to the artistic skills he’s learned during his training. An important part of his oeuvre is devoted to the study of the same two geometric shapes, the circle, and the square. Ashley notices that he’s just now starting to create some of the artwork he’s been envisioning since the time of his education, over 30 years ago.

One of his new works depicts a square shape, pierced by two diagonal cuts. This creates a stylized letter ‘E’. The shape is hollow and offers a glimpse into a universe that contains more of these geometric figures, as well as celestial bodies such as stars and planets. In the top right, an open circular shape provides a view of the background of this art piece. Ashley plays with space and shapes and plays with the viewer. If you look at this piece for a longer period of time, it’s as if space and shapes change and move through each other.

Since his training, Ashley has been looking for the key to a universal form. A kind of ‘master key’ that could replace different types of tools. He does stay in the realm of physical matter, and he puts it this way: “We were created by God, and I respect that above all else. But at the same time, we’re also created with the talent to create things ourselves and we can use everything that’s within our reach. Suppose you can create something with the archetype shapes, the square and the circle, with which you can create everything. One instrument with which everything is possible, instead of having your own tool or implement for every job. That would be a great invention.” In his paintings, he’s always looking for the answer to this statement.

In another new painting, Ashley opts for a completely different style. He creates an abstract landscape in which the blue color dominates. The sky is dark blue and the water in the foreground also has a deep blue hue. This piece is painted much more casually and it’s intriguing precisely because it’s all a bit more daring and less ‘tidy’. Two green eyes look at us from the water. In contrast to the rest of the canvas, the eyes are created so realistically, that it seems as if there’s actually a person or being behind the painting who’s staring at the viewer through the canvas. It’s the contrast between chaos and structure that he brings back every time in his oeuvre. Ashley knows he has many more pieces he’s ready to create. He’s expecting to present a new solo exhibition before the end of the year.

Curaçao has now entered a new, strict lockdown. For Ashley, the pandemic has made it poignantly clear that there is no safety net for artists during difficult times. He wishes there was an organization which artists can be a part of, which would watch over their well-being and interests. He sees the need for this because artists are often independent and lead a secluded existence. As a result, in his experience, this is a group of professionals that’s often left by the wayside. Local artists frequently work for free or for minimal compensation, but in difficult times, people simply forget about them. Ashley hopes this will change in the future

This post was made possible by the financial support of Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Caribisch Gebied.
Previously published in Amigoe, on April 29, 2021. Photographs by Edsel Sambo.

This text, in whole or part, may only be reproduced with reference to the source: Curaçao Art®️, www.curacao-art.com, and the author. Copyright of the artworks remains the property of the artist.