04 | The Tribune | Weekend
Friday, October 1, 2021
interview
Julie Westmore Although she is thousands of miles away from home, this artist has found a way to feel connected to the Bahamas. She tells Jeffarah Gibson how one of her paintings, which celebrates the hard work and passion that goes Junkanoo, has been selected for a prestigious exhibit in London which will be seen by people from around the world.
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ahamian artist Julie Westmore is still in awe that one of her paintings was chosen over thousands of others to be featured in the Royal Academy of London’s Summer Exhibition 2021. Held every year without fail, the Summer Exhibition is a celebration of contemporary art and architecture. Anyone can enter their work – leading artists, household names, new and emerging talent. The exhibition provides a platform for the artistic community to showcase what they’re doing. The exhibition runs from September 22 until January 2, 2022, at the Royal Academy in London. Julie’s painting is one of 1,300 paintings chosen out of 20,000 entries submitted. Her painting, called ‘Junkanoo Rushing’, is 40 x 40cm in size and is painted in acrylics on a canvas box frame. The painting was part of a series of artwork she created while being lockdown in her London home during May of last year. “When I saw the theme to this year’s exhibition was ‘Reclaiming Magic’, I knew immediately that I had to enter the Junkanoo-inspired piece called ‘Junkanoo Rushing’,” she told Tribune Weekend. Julie is a self-taught artist who is inspired by everyday life. While she resides in London, her roots are firmly planted in the Bahamas, the place she was born and raised. Those roots make her reminisce on times spent back home, the culture she has been missing out on, that has now organically come to life in her painting. “Growing up in the Bahamas, two of the best events for me was going to watch Junkanoo on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day each year. I can remember waking
up really early to watch the event on TV until I was old enough to go with my mum and later with friends to watch live,” she said. “The participants work hard all year round preparing for this oneday event and it’s so exciting to stand there watching the different groups go by. It was always such a magical and exciting experience for me listening to the music and seeing the beautiful costumes with such intricate details made from crepe paper, jewels, feathers, cardboard and the participants spend the whole year creating.” Julie said she was filled with pride while painting “Junkanoo Rushing”. Throughout the process of creation, she embodied the effort and hard work Junkanoeers put into the parades. “Looking at the painting, I can hear the sound of the cowbells going ‘click, click, click and click’ with the oil drums and trumpets playing. The music and dancers just pull you in and your body starts to move to the beat by itself,” she said. Julie believes her submission adequately represented the magic of Junkanoo. “Sometimes when I paint, I get lost in the painting so much so that I can remember the feeling of pride, passion and dedication of every rusher as I was painting this piece. I even had Junkanoo music playing in the background to take me there. I was very emotional as I painted and was thinking constantly of all of the work that goes into making the costumes each year and the pride of the men, women and children continuing this tradition year after year’,” she said. Thousands travel around this time of year to London to view the famous exhibition. Julie said she
