Rodell Warner

An ongoing investigation of representation, history and society, Augmented Archives includes a compilation of three different bodies of work. The exhibition text reads: “combining digital animations and sound, the video prints reflect a newly colourised and digitised representation of mostly Black and white photographs — with a majority of the works appearing in colour for the first time at Tern.”

Warner has said about the exhibiton, “I've found a way to give form to what I've come to think of as the hidden interiority of the subjects of the photos — those invisible dimensions of their lives that resisted or escaped or were omitted from the archive.” “My intention is to "invite people to find out what they might see in these colourised, digitised, perhaps fictionalised versions of rare images from the Caribbean's past.”

The artist's work channels the intersection of art, photography, and technology. Through his exploration and rediscovery, he creates a multidimensional approach to his work. He aspires to reveal the stories and cultures of the individuals depicted in the images, bridging Caribbean past and present. Utilising digital intervention, Warner simultaneously challenges and repairs the digital Caribbean archive, interrupting the narratives of the original photographs.

Rendering photographs from familial repositories and digitally sourced archives, he creates active representations of Caribbean history. Framed by intimate, familial narratives, the artist’s imaginative video prints offer a contemporary view into Caribbean art, depicting familiar subjects. As an intimate collection of animated images, his video prints feature vibrant kaleidoscopic motion, bringing a positive light to figures whose lives were guarded by a dark past.