2021 - Whenky's Highlights
Exsqueeze me!
Another year comes to an end. Buh bye 2021!
Time flies by, but the way I see it is through my memories, my companions, my art, writing, pictures and in my gratitude…
I am grateful for a year filled with good health, maintaining my peace, working towards my goals, and loving myself more. It was also, talking to people, putting myself out there and making things actually happen. It was super special with my beautiful Debut Exhibit, making sales with people who resonated with my art and poetry, the launch of the Whencut Goddamn Brand (and more so the fashion!!!), working out of my WGStudio and creating some iconic artworks. Thank you to (*those who know, know*) who have blessed me with their reassuring presence, time and love.
This year was all things sparkle. As a precautious (as what friends call me ‘paranoid’ about the epidemic) citizen who wears masks through the night’s end and sanitizes his hands by the third approximate minute, I have managed to travel to a few places and unleashed some fears… I have also masked and adulated – sitting hours at the printing shop in an office full of uncles not wearing masks and coughing around me, going to shops to find the right frame, paint supplies, or the right wallpaper. This was the physical. On the concept level, there was me going to therapy, finding a truth bomb at every nook and corner and coming face to face with a lot of truths – some very unexpected and those that ran deep. There were also reconnections with old and new friends, and some collabs on the work front – all which made me feel a little more ‘me’ this year.
As I grow older each year, I feel more sure of myself, more confident about what I want and won’t tolerate and say ‘f*ck you’ too in my head to… I never knew what a golden birthday was (turning your age on the day of your birthday) so I celebrated this 27th birthday as my Golden birthday with a sparkling gold choker and a Raw Mango brocade jacket. I am Golden in every way…
On the psychological level, there were other nerves to be calmed. This year was brought in with people I didn’t necessarily feel accepted and loved by – but then it made me deeply question myself, and I realized. I don’t need to prove anything to anyone. When people are rude, look down on you or are insensitive – they are reflecting their own insecurities and projecting. There is no reason for me have taken it seriously but yet balance it with understanding and accepting my sensitivities for being who I am as a person. I’m a feeling person. This makes me real, and human. And while I understand having a thick skin in necessary I don’t want to become a stone in the process. I love and honor how my sensitivity and my energy make me the artist, singer, writer, and great friend (amongst the many other hats I don as of today). What I learned from that was to believe in Me, My story and not be gaslighted by anyone and to do what and where my heart felt honored and at ease.
When I went to Parsons, I discovered how large my vision was. I loved a large canvas – large walls, canvases and chunks of wood were filled in with my paintings. I guess they gave me the freedom to take up as much as space I needed without any limitations. I love making 3ft x 4 ft artworks – they flow by me with ease. So this year to challenge myself, I began creating a lot of smaller sized artworks (WG 2.0 Line) – small acrylic paintings on circular canvases, A3s, A4s and even A5s. I also experimented with keeping the roots the same (the OG Whencut Goddamn Aesthetic) but experimenting with the shoot. I began to work a lot with pen on paper – which was very refreshing change and a unique evolution of my style. In addition to this, I made my first Iconic Whencut Goddamn Man!!! My nephew (adding to 1000s of people who asked me why I never painted men) asked me to paint a man. When I finally did and showed this to him, he quipped, “put some clothes on him already!!” haha.
All my life, people were confused about my art – what it means, what each woman’s story was and what inspired me to do what I do. As a person who doesn’t like to explain my work and wants his work to speak for itself, this used to leave me stumped and confused. For my exhibit, I decided I would write a poem or write up that goes along with each of the artworks. This flowed more easily with who I am and I felt like it really gave a layperson a strong understanding of the ‘artist’s journey’. It was extremely gratifying to know that people loved the writing as much as they loved the paintings.
This year was also a beginning of a Technical side to me. I always stayed away from tech saying I’m tech (no) friendly – it’s a pj but its true. I thought handmade was the beautiful, the ultimate, the authentic…but I must say I really enjoyed myself with my fingers on the keypad. I not only made my website, designed catalogues, brochures, and all printed labels, sold stickers, etc. for the exhibit but I also created a limited WG Collage Series. Inspired by similar themes that go along with my work such as empowerment, self worth, self-love, and women taking charge of their lives, and thriving. This was a new avenue that I hadn’t entered and it was a beautiful culmination of my ideas in a new form and a welcome change from my paintings. With NFTs and digital art booming, there is scope for development on this front and more experimentation on this end. This year was also the year one of my dreams came alive – my fashion collection!!! This was the cherry on the top for me this year, for I was truly grateful that all the pieces came out just the way I wanted them to. Especially when I receive compliments and get to say, “Guys, I’m wearing me!”
There is a whole lot to look forward to in the coming year. More inspiring collaborations, creating more iconic artwork, establishing my brand in the Universe, more resonance with audiences who love, honor, respect me and the work I do. More blessings to receive! More self-love! More things that make the heart dance joyously.
Ending this year with a heart full of gratitude, love and self worth.
Thank you for being a part of my journey.
♥️