Cayo cousins show art in San Ignacio
A private residence in the heart of San Ignacio is a long way from the Belize City House of Culture, Image Factory, Mexican Institute and other more traditional centres of Belizean art. But the works on display in Cayo speak for themselves…and today News 5’s Patrick Jones was listening.
Patrick Jones, Reporting
The uncle and nephew duo has pooled their artistic talents to mount the exhibition called ?2C or not to C…the world of Cruz & Cauich.? It?s a collection of thirty oil on canvass paintings, which Fernando Cruz says touches a wide variety of topics.
Fernando Cruz, Artist
?We specifically decided not to have any subject matter. Because of the point that we think Belize needs to broaden its horizons concerning art work. I think there is too much of a constant in Belize. Everybody seems to be painting the same thing. I quite enjoy painting a lot of Belizean subjects or different ideas about Belize. But I think also because I don?t live here, the art work has evolved to a whole different dimension but also to the point that I think people need to start seeing different things, people want to see different things, more refreshing in that sense.?
It?s a refreshing departure from the norm, where big art exhibitions are usually mounted in Belize City and seem to cater more to the tourism industry. Cruz says Belizeans can appreciate art too, especially if they can relate to it.
Fernando Cruz
?The painting itself took about a week and a half to do. But you?re talking about eight to twenty hours a day. That?s a lot of man hours to do. But once you painting that way, it becomes very addictive because every time you wake up it?s like the canvass is calling you.?
These five paintings are the work of twenty-four-year-old Jorge Cauich, currently residing in Houston. The subjects in his art work, like Cruz?s, are of no particular theme, but according to the painter, whatever inspires him goes on canvas. Cruz says that in each of the paintings, there is a story, a message where local personalities, whether the ordinary man on the street or a glorified celebrity are central to the plot. And the painstaking details are sure to be conversation starters.
Fernando Cruz
?But what we have done is that through the years, we?ve taken local characters from Belize who people might find very strange and we decided to immortalize them in a sense because when they are no longer here, whether they have contributed anything to the community or not they still form a part of this community. And the people are the ones who make the country.?
And since its all about people, Cruz, a native of San Ignacio town, who now resides with his wife and family in Manchester, England, says it is time for his countrymen and women, to wake up and smell the whap that elected officials are pulling on them, as illustrated in this painting.
Fernando Cruz
?If you take the letters of the PUP, UDP and you then put them into words, I decided to play with it, in the sense that it interprets itself to the ?price unu pay under deh politicians.? That?s a hardship we are facing in Belize today. And I can tell you that basically it does not have anything to do with whether you are PUP or UDP. The problem is that all the politicians we get into power in this country do not really care about the welfare of the poor people in this country. They are only aware of you whenever you actually go to the polls on that day and you give them your vote. After that you don?t hear of them no more.?
Then there is the situation with the environment. The deteriorating condition of the area around the historic Hawksworth Bridge has not escaped the painter?s brush.
Fernando Cruz
?But I would like them to come and see what that bridge looked like two years ago when I came here when that painting was done and it doesn?t look the same at all. It?s no longer a river, its becoming a creek. And I think if we do not treasure the national monuments or our environment we?re actually going to loose it. And if we start losing it, the people of Belize are going to start suffering. So we need to unite with those projects and people need to start understanding or start listening to each other. If we don?t we?re just going to fall apart in this country.?
Even historical events are included in his paintings, because, according to Cruz, we need to treasure life experiences and use them as stepping stones to the future.
Fernando Cruz
?And again I think what we have the tendency to do in the country is to actually forget our past quite quickly. People have been having discussions, arguments in this country whether the Battle of St. George?s Caye took place or not. And the thing about it, whether it took place or not does not matter. It has become a national institution. It?s a part of our heritage and those things we need to treasure. Because if we cannot respect our past and know where we came from, we do not know where we?re going to.?
Fernando Cruz
?People need to actually free their mind. I can only lead you to the door. You?ve got to open it for yourself. And I think that?s the thing. You do not have to leave Belize to think for yourself. The problem is that people walk everyday around their community. The community changes around them, the environment changes around them and they just remain quite ignorant to it. And I think we need to start changing this mentality of walking around as if though we are actually blinkered. We need to open our minds, we need to free ourselves.?
It?s the second exhibition of his works that Cruz is mounting in Belize. He says there are future plans to connect with other local artists, especially those from the west, to showcase more Belizean talents. In the meantime though he wants the public to see that sometimes a picture is not just a picture; but a story book, a historical account, a conversation starter. Patrick Jones, for News 5.
The exhibition at the Cruz residence on West Street in San Ignacio is open until five p.m. on Sunday. The artwork is on sale.
