STATEMENTs
“We are always losing the moment. It is always vanishing.”
- Stephen Koch
Harewood’s art practice over the last decade has explored themes of multiculturalism and the consequences of colonialism and industrialization. Harewood draws inspiration from his familial lineage and the 21st century world of desire for immediacy in all aspects of life and seeks to find nuance within vanishing moments in order to capture a narrative between histories.
While beautifully fascinating and simultaneously destructive, our contemporary culture is one that is wasteful yet transformative. A throw away culture which takes garbage and up-cycles it into valuable objects which transcend time, religion, fine art and commerce. Harewood’s material explorations do just that, often using discarded packages, mass produced manufactured single use plastics and recycled fibers, Harewood embellishes, collages, adorns and recontextualized these objects into substantive works of art. Works that consider what makes beauty and how to transform the past, present and future through complicated associations in history and narrative.
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Reef Studies
This series is inspired by the submerged landscape just off the shorelines of Barbados. I created a series titled “36 Views of a Dying Coral Reef,” inspired by the series “36 Views of Mount Fuji” by Japanese legend Katsushika Hokusai.
The imagery is based off of memories, not photographs.
I want for my reef drawings to suggest a gnarled elegance, quiet beauty and sadness. As far as humans are concerned, I find it fascinating that there are many instances when we unwittingly destroy the things that we love.
This series deals with that complicated relationship between us and nature.