“I incorporate my heritage, collages about my family and the places from where I originated. To be connected in a certain way like a memorable moment.”
Shaundell Horton graduated from the Nola Hatterman Art Academy in Paramaribo, Suriname in 2011. Born in Guyana, Shaundell moved to Suriname with her family when she was 8 years old. As a child she was already fond of drawing and she was introduced to her first books on art while visiting her grandmother. In high school her drive to draw lessened somewhat, but ultimately several important events in her personal life led Shaundell to choose what was important and what had always brought her joy: drawing, painting … art. She enrolled at the Nola Hatterman Art Academy.
Her specialization was ‘Experimenting’. Shaundell quickly developed a style of her own. Striking in her work is the use of warm brown and ochre tones and of collages, a technique she became acquainted with in the lessons of guest lecturers from the ‘Gerrit Rietveld Academie’ in the Netherlands. In her collages, in which she often uses paper that she recycles from used tea bags, she usually incorporates subtle elements from Guyana, the country where she was born.
In 2013 Shaundell received a residency opportunity that allowed her to explore the extensive art scene in Miami, Florida, in the USA. In her recent work, the artist has moved beyond the subjects related to her bond with her country of birth, and has been focusing more on the portrayal of human emotions and environmental issues.