While many artists struggle for years to establish a reputation, Russell DeMoura’s is rocketing.

After only three years on the Bermuda art scene, Mr DeMoura, 47, has work in one of the Island’s most prestigious exhibits, the Bermuda National Gallery Bermuda Biennial 2014. The Bermuda Biennial is juried and selects what it sees as the best of contemporary Bermuda art.

It’s only his third exhibition.

He has a series of three pieces in the exhibit — moody, macabre photo manipulations that explore his relationship with Bermuda and his family. He feels empowered by his inclusion.

Q: One of your pieces in the Bermuda Biennial 2014 is called Nary the Twain Shall Meet (Mother). It shows iconic Bermuda images framed by the shape of a female head and a male head. What is that about?

A: I really liked this year’s theme of A View from The Edge. The big aha moment, for me, came when I was looking at old family photographs. Quickly, I was inspired to do a series of pieces. The piece Nary the Twain Shall Meet (Mother) actually relates to the difficulty in the relationship between my mother and I. I see her as beautiful, regal, immovable and representing the status quo. And I see myself in this instance as inventive, modern, frustrated, and in the process of becoming something else. Sometimes the generational gap is too great to achieve a connection whether you love each other or not.

Q: As an artist do you feel pressured to do iconic Bermuda images like gombeys and pink cottages?

A: No, not at all. I feel there is a lot of territory to explore in Bermuda, even with pink cottages and gombeys. Every photograph in my series was taken in Bermuda including the family photographs. Every tree is identifiable as a local endemic.

Q: Tell me about your artistic journey.

A: I studied fine art at Bermuda College but obtained a degree in graphic design in the United Kingdom. I think almost every designer has a desire to create art for art’s sake, without meeting all the necessary requirements of commercial work. It’s interesting, but I don’t think fine artists dream of one day finding the time to be a designer for clients. It’s all about freedom of expression. As of late, I’ve finally allowed myself to explore this. It is only in the last three years that I have been looking for opportunities to do fine art. It hasn’t been a difficult transition. In fact, removing the client from the equation has been very fulfilling. It means I get to do what I want to do. I first showed my work in a group show in 2012 called Ghetto Biennale in Haiti with a Bermuda group called the FUNGUS Arts Collective, started by my friend James Cooper.

Q: What is the reaction you want to invoke with your work?

A: I guess I want people to connect with the emotions in the pictures, as well as just appreciating them for their aesthetic beauty.

Q: You also had work in the 2012 Bermuda Biennial. You co-designed Ouroborus (circle of life) with Mr Cooper and FUNGUS. Tell me about that.

A: It was a rolling ball sculpture comprised of a series of pipes, chutes and tracks that allowed the public to launch wooden balls and watch them wind their way down the central foyer of City Hall. The big thing was getting it placed outside of the BNG. That was the first piece that they exhibited outside. There were children there every day, using it. They were so excited. I used to go there and do minor repairs and that sort of thing and people were coming in to see it, who wouldn’t normally come into City Hall. It was very satisfying.

It’s not too late to see the Bermuda Biennial. The show is on at the BNG at City Hall in Hamilton, and at BNG East at Bridge House in St George, until November 22. For more information see www.bermudanationalgallery.com or call 295-9428.

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