Work of Camille Chedda is now to be seen alt Alice Yard in Port of Spain, Trinidad.
About:
Camille Chedda was born in Manchester, Jamaica in 1985. She graduated from the Edna Manley College in painting and received her MFA in painting from the University of Massachusetts Darmouth.
Untitled, 2013.
“Like many Jamaicans, I habitually collect and recycle the black ‘scandal bags’ I receive after purchasing items from the grocery store. Upon moving to the US, however, I was immediately struck by the absence of black scandal bags from everyday life. Black plastic bags are reserved for a more mature audience, distributed predominantly at liquor shops and adult sores. Within this context, I came to the quick conclusion that black scandal bags are only given to people who have something to hide. They are called ‘scandal bags’ for a definitive reason.
Untitled, 2011.
My paintings began out of this context. I wanted to give the bags an identity, a face that could confront the viewer openly. What began as an innocent collection of bags in Jamaica became a ritual of observing and painting my own face onto disposable sandwich bags in America. The paintings are at once durable yet fragile as a result of their material properties.
Due to the bags transparency, the viewer has access to a private world that begins to fall apart, as it unavoidably comes closer to expiration with each passing day.”
Untitled, 2011.
