Meet Demski, a street artist who seamlessly combines photography, painting, and more. She merges pop-up exhibitions with her dream of showcasing her work in galleries
Demi 'Demski' Walker
Many young Jamaicans are finding their way in various fields of art, with most focusing on music and street art as a means of self-expression. Among them is Demi Walker, better known as Demski, an artist whose vibrant work is deeply rooted in her Jamaican childhood. Her creative journey spans photography, painting, sculpture, and drawing, beginning in her early years and continuing with her pursuit of Visual Arts and Film Studies at the collegiate level.
"I go by the name Demski. That is what I want to be called as an artist because it revives a childhood nickname and takes me back to a time growing up in Jamaica when I was first experiencing that call to creativity", she said.
She began honing her craft in high school, choosing to focus on the arts over Home Economics, STEM, or Business. "The honing of my craft started with that whole seriousness of dedicating time, consideration, focus to the pursuit of art. The art room was also my safe haven throughout highschool. And I went on to major in Visual Arts and minor in Film Studies at University."
On describing her style, Demi said, “Messy, rich, vibrant, unpredictable, a blend of dark/heavy/light in terms of materiality as well as colour, really candid, and ... done by any means necessary (multidisciplinary).”
As she matures as an artist, her style evolves into a more authentic reflection of her voice, fearlessly embracing greater risks in her forms of expression. "…the main thing that has shifted and that continues to evolve as I grow in my art practice has been the amount of time spent contemplating what it is that I am creating. Usually after having made a thing, but sometimes beforehand."
She continued by saying, “I've had this discussion with friends as well but a few years ago I had been discussing my process with one of my elders from art school, a very talented woman, and she pointed out that most of our creating will lie in seeing. Not so much seeing as a means to portray, but more seeing what new information is there in what you have already portrayed so it's possible to decipher your own creative language. Do you get the meaning? So, something so seemingly obvious as seeing comes to hold this enormous truth. My creative process is always to keep seeing."
Demski describes her style as messy, rich, vibrant, unpredictable
Taking strides towards increasing visibility to her work, Demi orchestrated a pop-up exhibition. “My ongoing pop-up exhibition on show at Ellis Kitchen in Ontario, CA, which concludes on June 10, was started with my forever objective of wanting to share my artwork and its messages with anyone who would be moved to see it and to feel what it's about and hopefully to sell some pieces along the way", Demi explained.
"I had done two pop-ups prior, one was a collaboration (2017) and the other (2023) a solo like this one, and I had participated in a couple group exhibitions as well – all in Jamaica. This exhibit at Ellis Kitchen in Canada includes 13 artworks June 10th."
Based on the work she had displayed, “Well, thirteen artworks are included which might seem like a lot but they are fairly small in scale. There are 10 photographic prints, and 3 paintings. Two of the paintings were done in oil and the third largest painting in acrylic. All the photos are nature shots from various spots throughout southern Jamaica. The paintings also follow a similar nature theme.”
I would like to show in multiple galleries but also to keep doing pop-ups because I love the flexibility it provides
Moving forward, Demski plans on bringing about a virtual exhibition alongside many more pop ups to spread her art.
"As this exhibit draws to a close, I am thinking back to the online VR exhibition I had done in 2021 – to build on that in ways where I can host another "NOOK" or space within that VR exhibition and possibly invite other artists to participate."
"Beyond that, I would like to show in multiple galleries but also to keep doing pop-ups because I love the flexibility it provides. Pop-ups can be such a symphony of collaborative energy and a joy in welcoming people into creative experiences in an almost infinite variety of settings."
Demski's multidisciplinary art inspired by Jamaican roots
“In September 2021 I produced a 360° VR exhibition under the small biz name "enDemic" sharing some of my paintings and photo-based works. I had hoped for it to become a space where I and other artists could share our art. That is still a dream of mine. Since then I have sought to grow that vision and concept, and my artwork has evolved alongside that effort.”
"The virtual exhibition was designed preceding and during the COVID pandemic as a means by which to expose my work, and the issues it highlights, to a wider audience in an immersive, interactive and educational way. I have been passionate about nature, food, and environmentalism for as long as I can remember and quite a bit of the artwork I create will tend to revolve mostly around those topics on both personal and political levels."
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