Mission accomplished as artist Phillip Robinson completes tenure at Edna
Granted full scholarship in 2019 after Gleaner story
Published:Wednesday | June 21, 2023 | 12:46 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Graduations are always a milestone moment in one’s life, and artist Phillip Robinson can definitely relate. Having completed his four-year bachelor’s degree at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts (EMCVPA), the former security guard is dreaming in colour about that day when he walks across the stage to be presented with his official citation.
“Words cannot express how I feel,” Robinson said, perhaps without even realising that he had used a similar phrase in 2019, upon hearing that he had been awarded a full scholarship by the Ministry of Education to attend his college of choice.
“Is this really me?” he asked rhetorically. “During these four years I have gained awareness of myself as a person. It has transformed me into someone I didn’t know. I am no longer lacking in confidence and knowledge.”
Robinson literally used his hands to draw himself out of the poverty that painted Watt Town in St Ann, straight into the halls of the EMCVPA. His auspicious journey started with a piece of artwork that went viral, after which he was interviewed by The Gleaner in August of 2019. A 2006 graduate of Marcus Garvey Technical High School, he left school without any Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate subjects, owing mainly to illness, but he studied on his own and passed six subjects over four years.
Within one week of that article being published Robinson’s life changed forever. The follow-up newspaper article was headlined ‘Edna, here I come! Dream comes true as artist gets full scholarship to Edna Manley College’.
Over the last four years, during which he experienced many challenges, Robinson has had many moments when he pinched himself to make sure that it was real. One of the biggest ‘pinch tests’ happened this month, when the final-year art student staged his first exhibition. “My mother was here for the opening night,” he said proudly.
Passionate about “using [his] art as a voice to create awareness,” that is exactly what he accomplished through a captivating series for the exhibition, which is titled ‘Disrupt the Poverty Mindset: An untapped potential’. In his notes, Robinson states: “This body of work is an exposé of illustrations that depict the mindset of people who are experiencing generational and absolute poverty, pulling into focus the untapped, inner strength they possess to pull themselves from the grip of this psychological restraint.”
The work is visually depicted in three series — ‘The Way, The Truth & The Life’, ‘Unknown Hero’ and ‘Rescinded’.
Miriam Hinds Smith, dean, School of Visual Arts, who was one of the persons who was on board with Robinson from day one, has watched him flourish.
“What I do know, and having been his adviser over the past four years … someone who he would call and have conversations with at just about odd times when he probably felt a little uncertain about something … I have come to see Phillip fully transform into someone who is particularly confident, particularly assertive, fully embracing his ability to communicate through his drawings,” Hinds Smith shared.
She added, “Outside of being a hyper realistic artist, he is able to now weave very critical concepts into his works that communicate a deeper understanding of our socio-economic … our sociopolitical, our societal ills and how that through his work he can impact and communicate and champion the cause of those like himself, who would like to rise about their circumstances. So he sees his work as a critical voice that carries weight and potency in mental liberation through the arts, or more precisely, through the art form of drawing and image representation.”
Goal-oriented, Robinson is aiming to pursue his master’s and ultimately establish himself internationally.
“Everything that I have experienced fuels my drive to stay focused. At first, it was hard to adapt to a new environment. The people in class were all younger than me. I often felt like giving up, especially during the pandemic, but here I am today, standing humble and proud, having completed a vital part of my journey. I can now tell anyone to chase their dreams.”