Russell M. Hamilton
Studio / Creative Research
"Voices From an Empire" Series 2023 - Present
"Voices from an Empire: The People of the Forest" 33" x 70"
"Voices from an Empire" Series
"Voices from an Empire: The Sariib" 60" x 72"
"Voices from an Empire: The Sariib" 60" x 72"
The “Voices from an Empire” Series explores ideas fundamental to religion, culture, language, and the fallacy of ‘race’. The “Voice” is my own, full of conviction, uncertainty, questions, and answers. A voice that is ever changing and developing. The “Empire” is that of my familial lineage and its history, but also that of the larger cultural and human lineage that connects all of us. The work incorporates trees, hills, plants, calligraphy/text/language, figures, and animals, which make up the fabric of the "empire', along with my connection to specific cultures, religions, and ways of self-identifying.
The title “Voices of an Empire” is taken from the book; “Voices from an Empire. A History of Afro-Portuguese Literature” which examines the social, cultural, and aesthetics of Luso-African literature, or Lusophone African literature. The book was written by Russell G. Hamilton and first published by the University of Minnesota Press in 1975. It was over the course of my father's writing of this book that I had the opportunity, along with my family, to travel and live abroad extensively, in Africa, South America, and Europe.
My father passed away in 2016, so in a way, this series is my way of honoring the profound influence my parents, through our travels and collective experiences, had on me and the way I now see, experience, and express myself in this life.
"Im-Migrant" Series 2018 - Present
The “Im-migration” Series explores my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with traveling abroad and being identified as a migrant/visitor/resident. Migration is at the core of human and social development as it has impacted the communities and social structure of both native peoples, and those who have ‘arrived’, either by their own will or brought against their will.
As a traveler and resident in many countries around the world, I have experienced being the ‘other’ while abroad, a feeling I also have while here in my home/birth country. We are all connected to the history of migration as our people, and we ourselves, look for new possibilities. The work was shipped to a solo show in Yogyakarta Indonesia, it was confiscated by the Customs Department, and detained, an ironic twist to work that dealt with Im/migration. I am continuing this tract of work currently.
The Village Square:
The Poetics of Community 2018
