“This is the first painting belonging to a series of work constructed around the process of investigating ‘chaney,’ a term that is a combination of the words ‘china’ and ‘money.’ These shards of pottery from the Danish colonial period can be found on many properties in the Virgin Islands. They surface often after a hard rain and serve as reminders of our colonial past and fragmented Caribbean identities. I want these works to serve as a type of map, a chart, a way of piecing together the fragments. ”

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La Vaughn Belle was born in 1974 in Trinidad & Tobago, and lives and works in St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. She studied at Columbia University in New York and the Institute of Fine Art in Cuba. Her work has evolved from figurative and symbolic explorations in painting to a variety of modes that include video, performance, installation and public intervention projects. The emphasis of her work does not lie in the medium, but in creating a dialogic space to explore the relationship between art and daily life. Along with several personal shows, she has exhibited in the Caribbean, the US and Europe. She is currently completing a documentary film entitled The House That Freedom Built.