Artist

Buseje Bailey

My work is an attempt to explore and understand the diverse arguments and practices within the cultural politics of "difference." In past work I have exposed the nature of my "being" and the nature of my practice in order to investigate and reconstruct myself in a tangible way – historically, racially, and sexually.

The traditions and contemporary practices of artists of colour have been and continue to be excluded from the art hierarchies (though much tokenism and lip service has been paid to inclusion). The rhetoric of postmodern discourse and contemporary art practices have questioned the issue of exclusion and cultural appropriation. The awareness of this discourse by Third World Artists has resulted in the development of a dialogue. This dialogue has resulted in the beginning of a new art community where issues of exclusion, cultural appropriation, and visual representation are central.

I am a Third World Artist living in an advanced industrial and cultural centre, in a society of privilege.I find myself in an ambiguous location and it is a very difficult place to be. How does rhetoric and this friction affect my political and artistic practice? How do I speak as an individual? Do I represent a mass unit? In this atmosphere how do I challenge myself to work without acceptance, and at the same time increase public understanding and appreciation of my art. These are the questions I am working with. My work "Body Politics" and my videos explore these issues.

Artist Code: 357

Videography

Fear Factor

2022, 12:00 minutes, colour, English

Quest For History

1998, 23:30 minutes, colour, English

Identity in Isolation

1995, 16:00 minutes, colour, English

Blood

1992, 06:00 minutes, colour, English with closed caption

Women of Strength, Women of Beauty

1992, 16:30 minutes, colour, English

Critical Writing

A Woman is a Moving Site
by Barbara Godard. Mix, Winter 1995.
Regeneration: 13 October - 25 November 1990
by Christine Conley. Regeneration, 1990. Kingston: Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 1990.