 Hello and welcome to interview, production of the Government Information Service. I am Jolene B. Sett-Joseph. On the 3rd of October 2019, at 3.30pm, St Lucia will witness the unveiling of All-In, a statue designed by Jolene Yudevik. This historic event is being held as part of St Lucia's 40th Independence Celebrations, and to tell us a little bit more about himself, the event and the statue I am joined by none other than the sculptor Jolene Yudevik. Jolene, thank you so much for joining us today. Pleasure, Jolene. Okay, great. Now, as I said, I want to find out all about the sculpture and the event, but before we do, let me find out a bit about the sculptor. For example, I know that your father is none other than famed St Lucia sculptor Vincent Joseph Yudevik. Did this mean that you were destined to follow in this path, do you think, or is it something that you just felt came naturally yourself? Very interesting question, Jolene. From the time my earliest memories of myself was always that of wanting to become a creator, wanting to become an artist. So I vacillated between sculpture, painting, architecture, you know, at a very early age of five. Even theater, I dab in theater, I dab in poetry, because I often say that the art world is sort of a universe, you know, and being an artist gives you the passport to navigate that space as freely as possible. So I still don't see myself as just being one thing. Sculpture is my core. That's what I've chosen as a career, but I've allowed myself the space to grow into other areas of creativity. But back to your question, yes, I have always felt from a very early age that I wanted to be a creator. That's what I am, essentially. Oh, brilliant. Now, as a creator, as a sculptor, I know that you actually have many pieces on show in different exhibitions throughout the world. Tell us a little bit about that, because as a young man, again, growing up in St Lucia and whatever, to have your art exhibited in so many far off lands to me, that's something to be very proud of. So what kind of pieces are actually on show globally and where are they located? Okay. But just to get to the genesis of how that happened, I was always sort of a daydreamer. Okay. And I dreamt of being far-filed in the world. I had the audacity of imagination and put it myself in those places. Because when you grow up on an island, that's the only way you could attain an international saviness and an international thinking. You literally have to deal with your imagination. So very early on, I took part in various exhibitions in St Lucia and eventually it led me to the MNC finance. I took part when I was in secondary school. I will reveal today that MNC finance was a post-secondary school exhibition. When I sort of cheated the process, I met in early. Because I was so eager to follow for the exposure. And I did well in MNC finance. I won a couple of prizes and so on. And that sort of put me on the national radar. And eventually I found myself on delegations, taking me to Canada, taking me to France, Africa, and then Martinique several times. I mean Martinique is right next door, but Martinique is really first world. And I learned a lot from that country. And on my own, I have been to many countries, including England, China. You name it. New York. I've had several exhibitions in New York City. Okay. Okay. All right. Now I guess it wouldn't be fair for me to ask, because again as an artist, it would be hard for you to answer which sculpture maybe stands out the most to you. But what experience, in that case, can you tell me what experience that maybe evolved around a sculpture that you did that remains quite significant in your own mind? Is it like the first time you exhibited internationally or is it when you went to a certain location and the reception you got, what stands out to you? Is there any specific event? For me, my most memorable sculpture or my most significant sculpture was actually my first sculpture that I did when I was five. Okay. All my sculptures are created equally. I love all of them and I put a similar amount of effort in all. But when I was five years old, my first sculpture I worked on tirelessly for about three years. I started when I was five and the sculpture probably finished when I was eight years old. Wow. And it was an abstract horse. I still have it. Okay. You know, and I could put on a horse and if my pillow, it was a two-legged horse that I put on my pillow every night and reached that it magically grew two legs. Two other legs, you know. So that sculpture, you know, represented who I was at the time. You know, it represented the epic shift I was making my learning curve, my understanding of the art world and so on. So all my aspirations and early desires at that time was encapsulated in these tiny horse sculptures, two legs. Okay. Brilliant. Okay. Well, Jelimi, it's time for us to have a break right now. However, we'll be back in a moment to find out a bit more about the event and the unveiling of all in. Stay with us. We'll be right back. One of the eight university-recognized rights of the consumer is the right to be heard. This means that every consumer who is dissatisfied with a good or service has the right to lodge a complaint to the provider of that good or that service. This should be the first point of lodging a complaint. Ensure that the receipt, as proof of the transaction, is available. Welcome back to Interview. I'm joined today by Jelimi Muldavek, who is a sculptor and who's here to tell us a little bit about all in his sculpture for the 40th Independent Celebrations. Now, Jelimi, let's talk about the sculpture. What was your inspiration behind it? Can you tell us? I mean, I don't want to take away anything from the unveiling, but can you tell us a little bit about what the concept is maybe? And also what was your inspiration behind you know, doing what you did? Okay. I'm St. Lucia and the people of St. Lucia is my muse. Okay. St. Lucia is an absolutely wonderful place. I've traveled globally and I've never seen an island fairer than St. Lucia, you know, according to Anne-Fam. And, you know, our attitudes towards life, simple but elegant, you know, and our mixed heritage, our cruel heritage, the foods that we eat, the conversations that we have, our past, our present and the way we project ourselves into our future, into the future is essentially what defines a St. Lucia, you know, and we do so in a very unique way. And so the sculpture speaks to the history of our people, the diversity of our people, because our people, as you know, is of mixed heritage. You know, there's four ethnic groups that mix up the population of this country. You have the Africans, you have the Caucasians, the East Indians and the Amaranians, you know, and so I want to say that St. Lucia and the Caribbean to a certain extent, at the parts of the Caribbean, is a sort of a social experiment or social miracle because we find a way to become, in a real sense of the word, intercultural, you know, and we really have time for multiculturalism because that doesn't necessarily mean that you're together. But we came in different circumstances and for different reasons, but time has amalgamated and united us all. So the sculpture really speaks to that, you know, but most importantly, it speaks to our united stride into the future and you know, where we project in ourselves. You know, our country has given so much to the world. We've given the world literature. We've given the world economic philosophy. We've given the world acts. We've given the world we have so much to be proud of. We have so much tolwats that has emanated from this small dot, you know, and I often see sandwiches like an atom, you know, small, but it's powerful. If you split an atom, then you have, you know, something explosive. You know, so I really believe that this country encapsulates all that and to ask questions, to speak more to your question. The sculpture was from an earlier collection, an idea called Kourme. And Kourme, as you know, means it's French for Koudemais, which means a lash of the hands, you know, and it's a French creole term which describes a part of our culture where people come together, specifically to be the house. So this is an act of love and had an opportunity to do an exhibition at the Steven Lawrence Center in London about eight years, nine years ago, in 2010. I was invited by Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and she wanted me to have the first ever exhibition at this renowned center. And so I conceptualized something that resonated with what she did with her life's work, which is creating architects out of the privileged inner city youth of England because her son had died in a hate-related crime and he wanted to be an architect before he died. So she wanted to replicate him, you know, for those kids. So I had to find something in my culture that was sort of architectural, but it was sort of of that love. And I discovered Kourme. And, you know, this piece was originally part of the Kourme collection. So people at home who are familiar with this collection, I know they must be grappling right now trying to find a rich one. So it's sort of a hint. But so when the opportunity for the 40th Independence anniversary came along, you know, this piece spoke very stridently and very loudly, you know, to this year's celebration. So it's a piece that I have been working on for, you know, before I created a year or two. And, you know, I've been tweaking it for many years now. And it was, I guess it was for a reason. Because it's finally going to be unveiled. That's great. Now we're going to run out of time, but before we go, I really want to know how do you feel those young sculptors being picked? I mean, I can hear it to be, I'm asking the question, but it's also as if I don't even have to ask the question because even in your answers beforehand, I could hear that, you know, what's coming through in your answers. But how do you actually feel about being the one chosen to do this, to have such a sculpture on display all the time? Well, great honor, but even greater humility. Right. Because when one is given the task to do something that represents the entire people, you know, that is an awesome responsibility that is on your shoulders, you know. But I have grown broad shoulders because of my international, you know, undertakings. Because I have done, I have interpreted many societies around China. And, you know, I've been adopted by China and I do a lot of work for them, you know. And I've always yearned to do something for my country. So I always had that aspiration bubbling inside me that, you know, that I need to, as a Jamaican, say, dance a yard, you know. Okay. You know. So when the opportunity came, it's something that I received with much elation, but also with a great degree of reverence and, you know, seriousness, I would say. Okay. You know, to find a better word. Okay. For lack of a better word. Seriousness. Because this is epic. You know, our people need those beacons all the developed world. You have these iconic things. These iconic statues. Very true. You know, that break the monotony of your daily lives. That give inspiration, that serves as beacons for inspiration. And also sort of a mapping of a map of who you are and where you are and where you want to go. And people need these things. And also society needs these things to grow. This is very essential to our growth. You know, so hoping that my sculpture will not be the last. It's definitely not the first. But I hope that this is an act of perpetuity. Okay. This will continue into the future because we've been given a lot by God, given a beautiful landscape. But we need to put on stage on a platform our own talent, our own local talents. Brilliant, brilliant answer. Wonderful. Well, Jalim, we have actually run out of time. However, I know that you will join me in asking everybody to make sure that they come out on the 3rd of October at 3.30 for the unveiling for this wonderful event. Thank you so much for joining us today. And thank you for being in the audience. Stay tuned to NTN. However, for now, this is Jordan B. St. Joseph from Interview saying goodbye. Okay.