Keiba Jacob Mottley sees the world in colour and texture. Her first solo exhibition, Fabric of Life, is testimony to that. The 40-year-old, self-taught artist's first solo exhibition is on display at Arnim's Art Galleria, Tragarete Road, Port of Spain, from September 11-25. It consists of 215 pieces but does not include her designs on garments and furniture.
Jacob Mottley, also known as Liana the Artist, is a procedural clerk at the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago and the curator of The Rotunda Gallery at the Red House, Port of Spain, where the work of TT artists is being displayed.
The majority of her work on display at Galleria spans 2018 to September 2, 2021. One of Jacob Mottley's pieces was also on display at the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA) during the 2019 Carifesta. While she always had an interest in art, she only took up painting five years ago. She said she took up painting because she wanted to start her own art collection.
[caption id="attachment_912948" align="alignnone" width="712"] A dress created from Keiba Jacob Mottley's art. Photo by Sureash Cholai[/caption]
However, she could not afford anything."Everything that I saw, because I would see large abstract pieces...I love them...I love them, I could not afford it."So Jacob Mottley has made her art pieces as affordable as possible with prices ranging from $450 to $12,000. Mottley experimented with the sizes of her pieces so that someone could get paintings for $450 and she was "really proud and happy about that.""So people can get little things they can put in their homes." The St Joseph resident studied public sector management at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and while she never formally studied art, always had an appreciation for it.
Jacob Mottley would look at art and wish, "Oh Gosh, I wish I could do that." At that time, she was not brave enough to try. Five years ago, however, she walked into Arnim's Framing and Art Supply store then in Maraval, announced herself as an artist and she said was there to buy paint. They then asked, "What kind of paint do you want?" "I said, 'I don't know. I now starting.' Immediately, the night when I went home, I started painting and never stopped. I paint almost everyday."
Being a self-taught artist has been fun, she said. To learn, she looked at YouTube videos, read and spoke to local artists like Jackie Hinkson.
[caption id="attachment_912950" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Fabric and texture are key elements of Keiba Jacob Mottley's solo exhibition the Fabric of Life. Her work is reproduced on garments and furniture as seen here. Photo by Sureash Cholai[/caption]
"Most of the artists I reached out to...they were willing to speak with me," she said. For her, it was a five-year experiment during which she crafted her own style and it was also an escape where she was able to get away from everything else. Her ability and skill do not fit in with the norm in terms of being able to draw or do figuartive work, she sai
