The painter is back to the forefront of the St-Maarten scene with an exhibition at the Axum Art Cafe. On this occasion, he is telling us about his artistic career, from artisanal engraving to expressionist art, and his commitment to culture in the broadest sense.
The Axum Art Cafe, nestled on the first floor of an old Frontstreet building, is a rich and inspiring place for art and culture lovers. This café-concert, an exhibition and performance venue, has been welcoming artists from all walks of life for more than 25 years. It is still standing thanks to the perseverance and passion of a man: Mosera.
Originally from the small island of Saint Lucia, Mosera was raised by his mother and grandmother. During his chaotic schooling, he remembers always being creative. “But like all children, I guess,” he says. At the age of 16, he left school and worked for some time in the field of electricity and communication. “At least it was concrete, but I was bored.” His creativity awakened and became evident when he joined the Rastafari movement, which at that time spread across the Caribbean and advocated a return to nature and self-sufficiency. Mosera then began to engrave calabashes in the workshop he had set up at his grandmother’s. He soon left Saint Lucia for Guadeloupe where he opened a workshop to sell his creations. “My goal at that time was to have a workshop on each island!” he recalls with amusement.
In parallel with his craft, Mosera developed his love for music, especially guitar, and learned music theory. “Understanding how music worked gave me the power to create”. Considering himself a craftsman, he gradually understood that he was also an artist. When he found in himself the confidence to paint, a new world opened up.
USING ART TO COMMENT
In 1984, Mosera moved to Sint Maarten with his wife and met the St-Martin painter Roland Richardson who quickly helped him organize his first painting exhibition at the restaurant Le Poisson d'Or. In 1987, his works joined those of other Caribbean artists such as Ruby Bute during the exhibition “Bida I Kolo” at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam. Since then, his work has conquered the art world internationally, to be exhibited throughout the Caribbean, Europe and the United States. At first described as “innocent”, it kept evolving in order to use more social commenting. “Art is an instrument that is used to make you think, I realized that it could be provocative”, Mosera explains. His expressionist paintings are reflecting the vibrant colors of the Caribbean, around his favorite themes of women and music, the “two great joys of life”.
It was in 1998 that Mosera created the Axum Art Cafe with 4 other people who would then withdraw from the project. Initially focused on jazz, this space dedicated to artistic creation has gradually starting host poetry sessions, film screenings and art exhibitions, becoming a place of reference for artists and art lovers. Helped by his son Menelik, also a musician, Mosera has made it his mission to ensure that the Axum remains an authentic place, open to all and neutral, far from commercial considerations that may sometimes cause to stay away from one’s principles. He is planning his new exhibition entitled “Skywatch”, to be discovered on Friday July 12th from 7pm.
“Skywatch” - Fridat July 12th, 7pm
Axum Art Cafe, Philipsburg
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