Valentine Stoll is a man on a mission – to save the traditions of the country’s first peoples.
He is among a group of indigenous artists whose works will be featured at a special exhibition that will be mounted at the Umana Yana, at Kingston, Georgetown, running until August 30.
Stoll, 50, is a self-taught artist who has been doing wood carvings for most of his life. He is a farmer and calls art his part-time work, but he has been using it to preserve aspects of indigenous culture. “Religion came and destroyed our culture,” he says, referring to the work of missionary groups among the country’s indigenous populations. “We have to try and save it, because no nation can live without its culture.”
As a result for Stoll, the Carifesta X exhibitions are not only about showcasing his work, but also about creating awareness about the indigenous traditions. Among his carvings are several totem polls, which he uses to celebrate the spirits above and below. He explains that while designs of many totems are similar, the meanings are varied. Stoll hopes that he can find a market for his work in order to earn a livelihood, while sharing his knowledge an creating a dialogue with his audience.
Like father, like son
Stoll says his art has grown out of the encouragement he received from his father and grandfather, who encouraged him to appreciate nature’s beauty. Not surprisingly, Lincoln Stoll, 21, has also been following in his father’s footsteps. Several of his wooden sculptures will also be featured at the exhibition. They are less abstract than his father’s work, capturing scenes of traditional village life, like the hunter with the bow an arrow, or the woman beating a drum. He explains that he learned from looking at his father’s work, but his pieces exhibit a distinct style that is all his own.
The name Telford Taylor is a fixture on the lips of local connoisseurs of indigenous art.
He created the multi-coloured totem that currently stands in the grounds of the Walter Roth Museum. But his son, Randy Taylor, 16, has been building a reputation all his own. “I must be the youngest sculptor in Guyana,” he tells me, laughing as he does so. Indeed, his youth belies his skill. He is still in school and his ultimate goal is to be an architect, but over the last four years the younger Taylor has been apprenticing in his father’s studio and has learned the trade. He says, “I just watched and took away.”
At the moment, his work consists of miniature carvings based on his father’s pieces, like the Hikrana, though he adds that he has been thinking about doing original works. (Andre Haynes)
