facing the gulf portraits of oil
DESCRIPTION
A catalogue of the art produced in Grand Isle, Louisiana as part of the Facing the Gulf Portraits of Oil project.TRANSCRIPT
Facing the Gulf
Portraits of Oil
www.facingthegulfportraitsofoil.blogspot.com
www.artnotoil.org
Facing the Gulf
This catalogue contains photos of the portraits, artist statements and project notes which emerged from the Facing the Gulf Portraits of Oil project.
The aim of the project was to submit Faces of the Gulf to BP’s greenwash event, the BP Portrait Award, in which the UK National Portrait Gallery is complicit.
The project brought UK artist, Nick Viney to Grand Isle, Louisiana where, for over five weeks, she volunteered her time to run inspiring and empowering portrait painting workshops.http://www.nickviney.co.uk/Nick_Viney/home.html
The workshop participants were local residents affected by BP’s oil and Corexit disaster (Corexit is a neurotoxin banned in the UK which was sprayed in unprecedented amounts on the huge spill that occurred when the Deepwater Horizon blew up killing 11 workers.) They painted the portraits in this catalogue which also features additional paintings inspired by the project. All of the works (apart from The Tin Man) were submitted to the BP Portrait Award 2011.
The portraits will soon be part of a unique Live Performance/Exhibit based around Yasmine Van Wilt’s powerful play, We’re Gonna Make
You Whole at Acguire Arts Battersea from August 6th, 2011.
A film about the project is in production.
Thank you for looking at the Facing the Gulf Portraits of Oil artwork.
To comment or for more information:[email protected]
Portraits of Oil
Community Paint by Numbers PortraitDesigned by Nick VineySelected & Painted by the Community
Facing the Gulf - Portraits of Oil [email protected]
Ko Faire ?(Why in Cajun French)
This portrait of my husband reflects his state of mind since the BP Oil/Corexit disaster. I have seen him in this pose many times since the Deepwater Horizon blowout. He is a man of few words but many actions to help friends and family respond to tough times. The BP spill has left him asking himself why the spill happened and why he finds himself in a position where his response will never be enough to help the land and the people he loves.
Carolyn AngeletteGrand Isle, Louisiana
No More Fishin, Sha (Sha means dear in Cajun French)
This is my first portrait. It is of a retired Cajun (if there is such a thing), who either because of age or other circumstances, dreams about his fishing triumphs instead of living them.
Project note: In the context of the safety of the environment in the aftermath of the spill and Corexit disaster, Maddie told us she is not sure whether the subject of this portrait is dreaming or just firmly closing his eyes.
Madeline CrosbyGrand Isle, Louisiana
First Splash Since Spill
This portrait evolved from two photos I took. I captured Max, my grandson, on the first day the beach was opened and supposedly safe. Max was so excited he jumped in the water and made a huge splash. I then noticed flecks of oil at the tideline & knew something was wrong. Like Max, we all want it to be okay but it’s not. The other photo I took on the last day the beach was open to us. Reviewing the photos I saw that one photo was of oil in the form of a fleur de lis. That says it all, it’s written in the sand, Louisiana is covered in oil.
Beverly CuroleGrand Isle, Louisiana
Facing the Gulf - Portraits of Oil [email protected]
The Tin Man
Mr Kenneth Feinberg’s firm receives $850,000 a month from BP to dole out compensation payments owed by BP from BP’s $20 billion fund. With that kind of conflict of interest it is no surprise that, despite promises to be ‘made whole’ by BP, many Gulf Coast residents have still not received payment or clear answers about their claims. In light of all of BP’s and Mr. Feinberg’s empty promises, I entitled this portrait The Tin Man because I feel they are desperately in need of courageous hearts in order to finally help the people of the Gulf.
Darlene Eschete
Houma, Louisiana
Talking on Water(Cherri Foytlin - Activist)
Cherri Foytlin has walked from Louisiana to Washington, DC seeking justice for the people of the Gulf. I’ve seen her speaking, surrounded by a sea of microphones, about the disaster and the people who are ill from the oil & the Corexit. I also painted Cherrie with the sky, dark, and not just above her, it’s behind her, close, closing in. The water is rising up her chest and the depth of field is shallow, suffocating. This is how it is.
Project note: Robin kept a journal while she was painting Talking on Water.
Robin Jerilea Miller
Tampa, Florida
Sea Child
As a beginner painter I was so excited to be asked to join the Facing the Gulf project. My biggest decision was which grandchild to paint. It had to be the youngest because of all the kids she is the one who will not get to enjoy the beach with Meme & Popie. Her parents have decided that it is not a safe environment for her to be in. Our retirement dream was to have a ‘place’ at the shore where the kids of all ages could come. Right now I don’t see that happening anytime soon and have decided to make a statement to that with my Sea Child portrait.
Cathy (Meme) Funk
Grand Isle, Louisiana
Facing the Gulf - Portraits of Oil [email protected]
Captain Andy
Captain Andy is a Grand Isle, Louisiana, sailor, whose preferred boat is powered by the abundant wind found along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. His love for the resource rich waters is a reflection of his entire family’s relationship with the Gulf. After the discovery of oil along the coast of Louisiana, members of the family worked in fishing and in oil production. The combination created a harmony of life that provided sustainable incomes. This decades old harmony forged between human endeavors and Mother Nature has been pulled out of tune by BP’s spill.
Sue Galliano
Grand Isle, Louisiana
Deepwater Patriot(Kim Wolf)
I decided to send this Face for BP and the National Portrait Gallery to look at because Kimberly Wolf, a Gulf Coast resident and environmentalist affected by the BP oil disaster, was one of the featured speakers at the Spill into Washington DC rally on Labor Day Weekend 2010. You can hear her speech at http://gulfcoastproject.org (Kimberly Wolf Speech) Project note: Kim wears a crawfish hat. Chloe was inspired by the project to submit this work. She is a gifted filmmaker and artist.
Chloe Doriann Harvill
Mississippi
One for the Gulf (Michelle Nix - Activist)
Michelle Nix is the Face of the Gulf that I decided to send to BP and the National Portrait Gallery. She has been working with the Louisiana Environmental Action Network, holding workshops to help people made ill by BP’s spill, so that they can get their blood tested. It’s important to have Faces of the Gulf at BP’s greenwash event at the National Portrait Gallery. I sent the portrait by Fedex and the woman behind the counter ‘high fived’ me. Her husband lost his job because of the spill. Just one of many.
Karen Harvill
Mississippi
Facing the Gulf - Portraits of Oil [email protected]
Pat of Grand Isle
My husband has always worked in the oil fields. After the Deepwater Horizon blowout he was lucky not to have lost his job. But many people did lose their livelihoods because of BP’s spill. I’ve left my husband’s uniform badges blank so that the portrait represents all the workers.Project note: Linda thinks oil production should be stopped, if only an alternative could be found.There are alternatives but Dirty Oil & those complicit with it stand in the way of transition away from oil to a clean energy economy.
Linda IngallsGrand Isle, Louisiana
The Trophy
With my work I try to do justice with color and image.
Project note; H.C. Porter was inspired by the project to submit The Trophy (which is part of a larger body of work undertaken after Katrina) to the BP Portrait Award. The Trophy is an amazing work but too large to be part of Living Exhibitions like the one held outside the National Portrait Gallery in London on the day of the BP Portrait Award.
For more info: [email protected]
H.C. PorterMississippi
Generations Gone Fishin’
I am a New Orleans native displaced by Katrina but now returned. My paintings are expressions of the New Orleans and Louisiana deeply rooted in my soul. Images of BP’s spill influence my current work.
Project note: Krystina was inspired by the project to submit this work to the BP Portrait Award.
Krystina SchindlerNew Orleans, Louisiana
Facing the Gulf - Portraits of Oil [email protected]
La Femme De Grand Isle
La Femme De Grand IsleIs in mourning.Turing her back.Shame and disgustShe knows she’s sick.Part human part fishLace collar of netNet like gillsCrown of a pipelineRigs thorn her side.In shadows and dustAll seems black and white.Mais nonFollow the money. NV
Nick Viney became known to the project through her powerful Gulf Exhibition.http://www.nickviney.co.uk/Nick_Viney/home.html
Nick volunteered over five weeks of her time to run the Facing the Gulf Portraits of Oil workshop in Grand Isle, Louisiana. In addition to working with the workshop participants she created this portrait and took outstanding and moving photographs. Nick also designed the Community Paint by Numbers Portrait which is on the cover of this catalogue.
Nick is an inspiring teacher and artist.
A sample of participant comments:
‘I never thought a beginner could actually do a portrait. I couldn’t have succeeded without Nick’s amazing teaching.’
‘I’ve learned so many new techniques that I feel as if I’ve made progress in leaps and bounds.’
‘I hadn’t touched my paints since Katrina. Working with Nick has reopened the world of painting to me.’
‘Thank you NIck!!!!’
Nick Viney
Devon, UK