Inspired by his rich Amerindian heritage, Victor Captain has proven to be a promising artist who has created celebrated pieces showcasing his colourful culture.
Born Sept. 14, 1991, in the Makushi village of Surama, North Rupununi, Victor attended the primary school in his village and would later participate in the Iwokrama Wildlife Festival in 2001.
He discovered a love of painting and pursued this with the encouragement of Makushi artist and art teacher Anil Roberts. He later met venerable Guyanese artist George Simon at the Bina Hill Institute at Annai in 2009 and Simon’s brother, also an outstanding Guyanese artist, Oswald Hussein in 2010.
Victor was privileged to work with Hussein on the design and carving of details of a large totem pole installed at Surama in 2012. He was also supported with paints and canvas by George Simon in February 2012.
His art speaks of myths; and beliefs entwined with the natural world abound in depictions of animal life and village pastimes. Victor’s “Banjo Man”, a Makushi-named tiny river fish, is monumentally depicted by the artist. His “Monkey Brush” is another nicknamed story about plant and animal life, describing a forest vine whose buds sprout curving tendrils which monkeys pick and scratch themselves with; with splits in the buds or pods also bearing flowers that spin off in the wind.
“Full Moon” shows Makonaima watching over his people; his quara (the Makushi word for horse) is painted in undulating, curving lines echoed by an aura of similar pattern; the macaws in “Cacique Crown” provide the feathers for this crown.
“Sun God” tells the story of the chief who could only procreate with his wife in darkness, sending his men to seek some hours of night from the Sun God, who guarded it in the form of an egg, giving it to them with the warning that any harm of their cargo would lose them control of the night. The egg being dropped and causing twelve hours of darkness every night, the chief’s wife was happy to pick flowers during the day, using their colours to create the animals and birds of the forest.
The artist is currently exhibiting his paintings, along with work done by Simon and Hussein, at Castellani House, Vlissengen Road. The exhibition, “Silent Witness”, opened September 12 and continues until October 12. (Text by curator Elfrieda Bissember)
