One of the most extensive African American art galleries in the United States, the ZuCot Gallery in Atlanta, announced this week an exhibition by Chukes, one of the most dynamic artists in the country in mixed media, painting, and sculpture. Using music as inspiration, he creates his works combining his visions with musical rhythms to sculpt what he hears through creative influences like Earth, Wind and Fire, Miles Davis, and George Clinton and the Funk Parliament.
In an exclusive interview with the New York Beacon, Chukes told us the majority of the art pieces come from the Identity Theft exhibit at the beginning of 2016 and some date earlier than that. “Initially, I created this work as a protest against television brutality and the murders of black people. The work in this exhibition is my artistic representation of what happens when people are stripped of their indigenous identity and re-educate a dishonest story with an incorrect version of the past and present injustices”, says Chukes.
The story was used against the black community as a weapon of self-destruction, according to the artist. Because of this, he changes his creative work direction, which no longer focuses on hatred and ignorance of killing darker-skinned people. “Our existence on this planet depends on our perceptions of each other. The art in this exhibition is my truth, and that truth must begin to be re-taught”, explains the artist.
When the New York Beacon asked if this moment of crisis is influencing his work, Chukes explained that the racial tension that the world is facing today is not new to him. He has seen and experienced it all his life. “I didn’t become immune; I just took enough!”
Since the beginning of his artistic career, which spans more than 35 years, he has always included world events, negative or positive, in his creations. “My art feeds the energies of the world as they affect my emotions. If I don’t create how I feel, my art will have no life! I use music and nature as an influence on my art because they inform me of the beauty in it. Life is also the terror that is destroying our planet. It is of great importance to me that I create art that sends a positive message and warns of the destructive path that leads to nothing but a void of despair. Nobody wins in war, for can’t people see that?” reflects Chukes.
The beginning of Chukes artistic career was marked by self-determination and focus. The first step was to find a place to create, then I built a relationship with his materials used for creation, and when he felt comfortable enough with the work he was creating, he looked for the right people to represent and commercialize his art.
It was not easy, and this process took years to find. “The reality of becoming an artist is full of pitfalls, setbacks, and disappointments. I had to fight for all the negativity that tried to confine me or silence my creative voice. Later on, I realized that everything I went through to become the artist that I am today was a test of my convictions. The last and longest time was to finish my university education. I felt that I received extraordinary gifts and wanted to take the steps that I considered necessary to be a complete artist without excuses.”
The challenge for the artist now is to reach the world with his art, sending a creative message that tells the truth. He says he wants to heal the world from terrible wounds and believes that art can do that, and also wants to leave a legacy that inspires others to express their creative voice in search of positive change.
For this future exhibition, he hopes that people who see his work will share or connect with his artistic creations to find their own voice.
“If we don’t speak now and start telling the truth about our history and the greatness that we, as blacks, have contributed to our world, our voices will never flock in the future. I create art to teach, that has always been my philosophy. Start teaching the truth: we live a lie for a long time!”
For this special exhibition, Chukes favorites include Statue of Limitations, Unarmed, Target Practice, Brotha and Sista, and Subliminal Man, and two new works titled Protector of the Next Generation and The Answer.
“I would not say the Portrait of a Nigger is my favorite piece, but I do think it encompasses the entire body of the Identity Theft exhibit. You see a wooden picture frame, lifeless with nothing inside it. When you call another Black person, Nigger, you are truly saying that they don’t exist! As a Black man, I didn’t come from a planet, continent, state, city, town, or tribe called nigger! Did you? For all those who want to justify calling another Black person Nigger as if it is some loving title, why not go all the way with it and play your nigger-card by changing your name to Nigger. To make sure you pass down your God-given right to use Nigger as a representation of so many lost and unknowing souls, try this: When your sons or daughters bring a newborn baby into the world, demand an iron fist that they name their child Nigger! See how far that will take that family’s and child’s life! If the Black race is to be seen as part of the human race, the lifeless title of Nigger must be erased from our vocabulary.”
His work has appeared in many galleries around the world – from the Boribana Museum in Senegal, West Africa, to the Hearne Fine Art Gallery in Little Rock, Arkansas, to the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles and Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine.
Collectors of his art include the likes of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, advertising mogul Carol H. Williams, and actress CCH Pounder.
