Jamal Durant has something to say, and he is using art as the medium to do so. His aim is for artwork to force viewers to think about all the things that are wrong with the world.
Two weeks ago, Jamal was among several talented artists who exhibited their work at the Sip N the Art Gallery event hosted as part of Linden Town Week. One of his entries, ‘What society says to men’, which had created quite a stir on Facebook garnering more than 1,300 shares, not surprisingly captured those in attendance. This piece is one of his favourites.
Jamal shared it was created in response to a snide remark following a young man’s suicide, that he should have manned up and dealt with his situation. “We [men] have emotions too. We hurt too. Society behaves like women have the monopoly over tears,” posited the artist.
Aside from his paintings that boldly advocate for justice, self-love and love for each other, he also does portraits and sceneries. While his portraits bring him faster money than his socially inclined paintings, it is the latter that make him feel purposeful.
Jamal’s first portrait was of his mother who he said is his biggest supporter. He followed up with a self-portrait, before painting another of his favourite pieces. The piece was done as a way of raising awareness about the current pandemic and symbolizes social distancing and quarantining. In the painting, the artist, wearing a face mask and a pair of gloves, sadly looks out his window at a desolate Stabroek Market Square.
The University of Guyana graduate, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management is currently unemployed. Asked how he manages to purchase his art materials, Jamal explained that taking up such a hobby is not expensive. All one really needs is a pencil and a paper and begin with sketches. The art pays for itself, said Jamal.
“… When it comes to the support, it’s one step at a time and you target a specific community on social media. Today you might start with ten likes and in another ten days you work towards having a hundred likes. You don’t wake up great but build to great things,” he added.
The Lindener said that one of the amazing things is that he enjoys doing it, which is why whenever he picks up his brush, he is lost in his own world.
Although he only began taking art seriously last year, Jamal has been drawing his “whole life,” according to him. He was ten when his grandmother taught him to draw. Then whenever he was at school, during his free time, Jamal would get out his book and start sketching. He would be so engrossed in what he was doing that it would take him a while to realize he was surrounded by classmates who were very intrigued by his talent. During this time he was attending Silver City Secondary School in Linden where he finished in the top ten following his CSEC examinations. He completed sixth form at Mackenzie High School before attending UG.
Asked whether he has any plans to attend an art school, Jamal explained that while we should never stop learning in life, he preferred to learn from tips online than attend a school where others might be learning at a slower pace or faster pace than him and he could never learn at his own pace. The only other studies he intends to pursue in the near future is a master’s degree in Business Management.
One of the challenges he faces as an artist is that while Guyanese are supportive of his work, they are only supportive until they have to pay for the piece they want or pay more than they had intended.
Another challenges is having to deal with viewers who are small minded. One of his paintings that was recently exhibited, was an unfinished piece of two nude women embracing. One of the two subjects was painted thicker than the other and the intent behind the piece was to encourage women to love themselves just the way they are and to love each other.
However, some viewers assumed he was degrading and criticizing women, while others felt he was promoting lesbianism and could not see past that. Jamal said he chose to see their views as constructive criticism and will be considering what some of them would have had to say going forward with his pieces.
Not everyone wants to pay the right price for paintings, but recently Jamal sold an exceptional piece for $150,000 to a client living abroad. The piece, called ‘Scarface 1983’ featured the life of fictional drug lord, Tony Montana as well as famous quotes from the film. Jamal had intended to sell the painting for much less, but the buyer knew what it was worth.
His medium is acrylic, but the artist is looking to get into oil painting. He said that while it looks more challenging, he wants to go this way as oil paintings are more vibrant.
Recently the artist started a YouTube channel through which he hopes to produce his own tutorials for aspiring artists. Through this avenue he will also provide paint materials for interested artists. He is currently working towards getting a camera to provide better quality videos as he is not too satisfied with the videoes produced by his phone.
If there was one person Jamal could have met, it would have been late American rapper Tupac Shakur. “He was more than just a thug or what people perceived him to be. He was a poet and an activist. He is one of my role models. I feel like my art connects to the kind of things he wanted when he was alive. I want my art to make people think or to feel whether bad or good. I invite others to be angry, if they want, with my art,” he said.
Jamal believes that five years is good enough for global recognition. He hopes by then to have a well-established business in Linden.
To see more of his work, Jamal can be followed on Facebook, Instagram and on YouTube @Art_Jamal.Durant.
