Inspired by memories from her country of origin, Haiti, Tamerlie Philippe’s faceless paintings are an ambivalent, diminishing recollection of home.
FACES VANISH AS I WATCH the clock tick incessantly. Tick, a smile disappears and tick, an eye vanishes. Tock time is up, I open my eyes and see nothing. Everyone who knows me, knows that I don’t remember faces. I don’t know why, and it scares me sometimes. Are my relationships this shallow that once the leaves start changing colors my mind changes direction?
In two thousand twenty I picked up a paint brush for the first time and started a relationship with painting. I have yet to understand how I feel about it. Somehow, it understands me and so do I. My colors mix on my canvas like buried memories. Our relationship isn’t exclusive. We have good days, mostly. It drains me, but I go back regardless curious to know what else it can teach me. When we spend time with one another music and coffee are a constant. I continued to paint until I woke up from a dream one day.
That’s when I started “Ghost town”. The brush moved on its own and when reached the face, I couldn’t give it features for some unknown reason. It didn’t bother me though. It felt natural so I let be. The piece “Woslè” was sketched by a friend of mine (Saradjen Bartley). She asked me to paint it and I did, once I reached the faces it happened again, so like the previous one, I let it be. Faceless characters have become my signature in way. It’s now a way for me to remember the people that have been erased.
Tamerlie Philippe
T.j. Philippe is a Haitian artist who lives in Hungary. Her artwork is inspired by her home country and impressionist art. She loves to get lost and discover unexpected things. Coffee and music are her eternal companions. Her work has been published in a few literary magazines such as Kithe magazine, Sadgirlsclub, The Worthiculturalist, and Montreal Rampage. Some of her paintings are currently exhibited in Colors of humanity.
Absolutely beautiful paintings