Spotlight on artist Wendell Mc Shine
“Raw, transcendental and overly mystifying” is how Trinadadian artist Wendell Mc Shine defines his work. Shine combines animation, illustration and fine art with a “mixed Caribbean-Mexican feeling”. Shine’s next exhibition is in April, at contemporary urban wear store, Upper Playground in Mexico City, before he heads home to Trinidad, to bring his ‘ARTS PROJECT’ program to young people there, with the aim of inspiring hope to creative minds that otherwise lack real opportunities in the art world. Fresh from a London trip, where he visited London Print Studios, Wendell Mc Shine spoke to catchavibe.co.uk about why art belongs to everyone and the place of black art in the global scene.
Hailing from the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Wendell Mc Shine grew up as one of ten siblings in the Caribbean ghetto. For ‘Shine’, life in this environment was challenging, and opportunities were hard fought for. He overcame the hard conditions by: “going internally and projecting possible positive outcomes for my life. Art saved my life and my mom, aka Ma-Shine, is very supportive”.
This sense of social conscience and awareness runs deep into Shine’s current projects, which aim to bring art to all spectrums of a community, particularly young people. Wendell explains: “Making art accessible is very important. Art stimulates our potential and reminds us who we really are within this universe. The young people need to be trained in the area of consciousness in order to unlock their essence. Art is just the trigger – they are the ones that will run stuff in the future and we need a more positive future”.
Art should be accessible to all, but unfortunately it is a medium that can be shrouded in elitism. ‘Shine’ states: “Elitism is just a fear-based concept. Art belongs to everyone – I can´t stress that enough. The art world has been shaken up by the rise of urban arts, why? Because we create freely. You don´t have to pretend that you are important or have mad cheddar to view or enjoy urban arts, it’s there in your face. Thanks to galleries like Upper Playground, Anno Domini, art blogs like Wooster Collective and Modart out in Barcelona, urban art is a force within the art world. Catch the drift people – everyone is elite and no one is”.
Wendell’s views on black arts are also clear cut. “I think black art has always been in the game for a long time, from Africa to the Caribbean, it’s undeniable, even Picasso got his hands dirty on it. One artist that I really dig and respect that is killing the art world (is) Chris Ofili. His work is downright mad cool and hyper fresh. Just like in music, the black contribution is very important in holding down this global community.”
“Global” is now a way of life for Mc Shine. Born and bred in Trinidad, he is currently based in the capital of Mexico – ‘the city of ancients’, where he produces work that is as heavily inspirational as his birth country: “I love it here – the colours, textures and most definitely the diversity of different indigenous tribes. They all bring that special uniqueness that makes Mexico. My inspiration really is universal, but Mexico is where I feel alive. Everything here is on a higher vibration. It’s as if there’s another dimension unfolding right before our eyes and my work reflects that.”
Mc Shine’s forthcoming exhibition ‘Behind the Blue Door’ opens in April in Mexico City.
Keep up the good work Shine