Desmond Ali…Using art to capture political turmoil of civilizations old and new

Feb 03, 2014 News

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By: Kiana Wilburg

“Art in resistance,” are three words that aptly capture the essence of the paintings of an acclaimed Guyanese artist and Linguist.
At the age of 60, Desmond Ali is still determined to answer his calling- that is- creating paintings and sculptures that are an exotic representation of the political climate and stalemate of the Aztec time and that of today’s.

Born on August, 3, 1953 he has been dedicated to this style of art for the past 35 years.
He’s obsessed with capturing the brutality that exists within different spheres of the Guyanese society and moreso, the metamorphosis of the politics in and out of our territory.
This father of three is also very fond of Guyanese historian and political activist Dr.Walter Rodney, who was assassinated in the 1980’s. Ali has done several works in remembrance of him.
The artist who has won numerous awards has had his work on display at numerous local, regional and international shows.
His sculptures of the horrors of the Aztec world are even chosen to be part of the prestigious exhibitions at the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) headquarters in Paris. Some of his powerful pieces are on permanent display in the United Nations headquarters in Washington DC, USA as well.
Ali attended St. Pius Primary School and then the Guyana Oriental College. He’s a graduate of political science, ethnography (the scientific description of peoples and cultures with their customs) and Vedanta ( a Hindu philosophy and science of the spirit) .

He also has an investigative mind which he says always sends him studying deeply before attempting any piece of art.
He is an aficionado of philosophy and attended the University of Guyana where he acquired a Degree in International Relations and a Diploma in Spanish. He also has a Diploma in journalism as he always wanted to be a journalist.
However, his artistic talents really blossomed when he journeyed to several countries in South America.
As it relates to the message of his art work, he says, “Art can contribute to social transformation and social education. It can show the pitfalls of every cultural disease in a way that no other art form can. The mind is very impressionable and images have an extremely lasting effect. It is my form of communicating with the world.”
One of the special things about Ali is that he believes that he was given his talents to specifically capture the integration of cultures and the political status which alters or taints in any way the cultural status of a country during a period of time.
“I want to capture truth in a very raw form. I want to capture the way in which the Guyanese culture is dying a slow death, the decaying social norms and the pollution of our judicial system by corruption.”

It is upon this background that Ali says his next painting will be dedicated to Colwyn Harding, a young man who has accused members of the Guyana Police Force of sodomy.
The self-taught artist who has travelled extensively said that learning Spanish and Portuguese was an art that also came to him naturally.
On a typical day he teaches Portuguese and Spanish for a living. He has conducted classes with some of the revered persons of the Guyanese society, which include Chartered Christopher Ram and some members of his family.
Ali is still working on a few new pieces which are dedicated towards painting the truth about Guyana’s political system. “The methods of subjugation in Guyana are intended to make us dormant and it is amazing that people are like this. I am always looking to document varying forms of mental slavery that are still existent in Guyana. My art is like a giant puzzle and I can’t paint unless I truly capture what happened before so that my audience can understand the struggles of today.”
His latest work is called, “The Anatomy of a Dictatorship.”
“The Anatomy of a dictatorship represents Guyana in the period 1980-2013. It depicts one of the events-the notoriously rigged referendum of July 1978 which paved the way for the institutionalization of the fraudulent Burnham Constitution of October 6, 1980, which turned red with the blood of Guyanese martyrs Ohene Koama, Edward Dublin and historian Dr. Walter Rodney. Unfortunately, the advent of free and fair elections in 1992 did not bring an end to the Burnham Constitution which became an instrument to consolidate the People’s Progressive Party’s (PPP) dictatorship which continues today. But the painting also shows that the solution lies in the people moving strongly towards demanding that the PPP step down in order to form an interim government that would return this country to a legitimate constitutionality. This is what my latest painting is about and the heart of the dictatorship being the corrupt practices of the government is also charred into this work. It also shows that the greatest trick this government ever performed was making some citizens believe that they genuinely have their interest at heart. The devil is famous for this act as well.”
Moreover, Ali is currently working on his book, which shows how ordinary people played a pivotal role in making changes. It is expected to feature the work and life of Dr. Rodney and the paintings and sculptures Ali has dedicated to him.

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