This body of work is an extension of a project of painting portraits for cocoa farmers in Grenada and giving it them free of charge. This explores the concept of the gift in creating new art owners among a community that is generally outside of the realm of art collectors. In painting cocoa farmers on a large scale, I hope to further draw attention to them and the important role they play in our society. For all of the visual information we get as far as who should be a celebrity, I hope to cause people to consider who we value and to cast agricultural workers in a more positive light. Reproductions of these large paintings will be hung in public places in Grenada, bringing a level of community engagement that a gallery does not allow. I hope to address and reinvent concepts of art and agriculture as a whole in Grenada. I identify with Heideger’s concept of Mitsein–being with others in the world.
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