Russell M. Hamilton
Studio / Creative Research
"Voices From an Empire" Series 2023 - Present
“Voices From an Empire” Series focuses on a body of 2D collage works, made from recycled paper, cardboard, fabric, acrylic paint, and various found elements such as flowers and plants. The series title comes from a book which examines the social, cultural, and aesthetics of Luso-African literature, or Lusophone African literature. The book was written by my father, Russell G. Hamilton, and first published in 1975.
My father passed away 2016, and it has taken until now for me to revisit his work, and the profound influence our travels and experiences had on me and the manner in which I see and experience the world.
This work explores the ideas fundamental to identity, religion, culture, and the fallacy of ‘race’, as I look to contextualize my experiences into a clear voice and aesthetics. The work involves sewing and stitching, a skill I learned from my mother, and much of the fabric and old Vogue/Simplicity/Butterick patterns are ones she has collected from the 80’s – 90’s.
“Im-Migrant”The “Im-migration Series” is a 3D sculptural body of work I started in 2018. The work explores my thoughts, ideas, and experiences with migration and the impact that migration has on the immigrant and the resident, and how this is at the core of human and social development. It also looks to address the impact on native peoples, as our communities and social structures were forever altered by the arrival of immigrants; both those that arrived by their own free will and those that were 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