About Audrey’s creative practice
Audrey is a multidisciplinary artist who explores concepts in her work such as cultural memory, the legacy of transatlantic slavery and uses various media to convey her creativity. These include found objects, paintings, video, photographs, spacial installations, portraits and poetic narratives.
She has been exhibiting in group and solo exhibitions since the 1980s.
Her group exhibitions include televised black women artists: Some of Us Are Brave, All of Us are Strong, 1986.
Her solo exhibitions include ‘Passion II’ at the Crypt Gallery, St Pancras Church Euston and ‘Of Kith and Kin’ at Stoke Newington Gallery London.
Since moving to Wales in 2017, Audrey exhibited in group shows: April 2019 at MOMA Machynlleth with Pete Telfer’s Culture Colony Intervention, July 2019, St John’s Gallery Barmouth, and Storiel Gallery in 2022.
By studying Cultural Memory, Audrey made a connection between her creativity, her identity and her heritage. This experience created a clear and coherent direction for her work, unifying her various mediums such as painting, writing and performance.
In her own words:
“I studied Iberian and Latin-American studies, which included the history of how the Iberians set up the system of exploitation of African labour that other European countries would take to the extremes of chattel slavery. As a British Jamaican, I did not connect this narrative with my heritage. I qualified as a French and Spanish teacher, and promised myself I would learn an African language, unaware that Jamaican fit the bill. I enjoyed working in the theatre, painting, living in Spain. On my return I became employed in Community development. I taught anti-racism, without checking the deep roots. I qualified as a psychotherapist. I stumbled across suppressed post-generational trauma during my MA in Cultural Memory and the fog lifted!”
Since then, in her work, Audrey connects multiple concepts and motifs that relate to her own past, family, multigenerational traumas, slavery and memory - areas which she continues to explore.
News & Insights
Have a look at the sample of Audrey’s work, projects, exhibitions and insights below.
Audrey and Gareth talk about their exhibition at Storiel Gallery, Bangor
Listen to Audrey discussing her artwork in her latest exhibition at Storiel Gallery, titled A Cappella Storiel: Redemption Songs. In this exhibition Audrey was invited to exhibit alongside, Welsh artist, Gareth Griffith, whose work includes strong motifs of Jamaica.
In the exhibition Audrey explored the conflicts around history and relationships, memory and pain, religion, and joy. By visiting the exhibition you enter a space that evokes the experience of reflection and calmness, amidst truth telling.
Video Credit: Culture Colony
Audrey discusses her approach to language
Audrey has been always fascinated with languages and that is reflected in her creative work.
In this video, Audrey reflects on her bilingualism as a child who migrated from Jamaica to London. She discusses the idea of “bad English” vs “proper English”, adapting to the new way of speaking as a child, putting musicality to the way you speak and much more.
Credit: Island Voices
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