Female: What I’m curious as to each of the dolls have some orb or something that is
representative of that specific country?
Vicky: I try to work as the fabric for each country when I could. Sometime I cooled this
fabric and refund this fabric in Madagascar so that’s for sure but most of the time
its more about my creativity. It is more about the way when Imation the country I
have you know for example I have this idea about the Angola because these are
the color. I think about umbrella, I think with this color, Zambia.
Female: And very close to the colors of the flag.
Vicky: Yeah sometime yeah sometime the Comoros, I look at the flag and I found this
fabric. so it’s not like creating something specific from the country but my idea of
as an artist. I never went to Sweatsizel, I don’t know what kind of fabric they
have, I study a little bit so I have an idea for me South Africa is really like I put
some beads and I know they wear, the woman they have some of the braces is
really like that.
Female: There were so many countries that caught my eye, I wanted to talk about every
single about them. I chose a few of my favorite and Vicky explains more. Oh my
gosh and look at Egypt, look how beautiful her outfit.
Vicky: So Egypt really is not Egyptian costume but the Egyptian outfit are very famous
for the cotton and so I used some the fabric you know the cotton and that’s not an
Egyptian bell south but that is the way. My idea about suit down was really like
he’s, things are really dark right now but as a saying the darkness is going to be as
white and so I and they have some weight in the flags, so it’s very important.
Giboti was really the place I never went but Istria was some crazy place. Its
always right imagination of the way I see the country, the way I want to talk this.
Well that is what I was looking, you can see Brooke and Wanda they have the
same fabric. The reason I did it is because this 2 countries they have this people
Otto and the tootsie and I don’t know the story and I don’t want that anymore. So
it’s the way to connect them, yes and to be sure they will be altogether on the
same way.
Female: That’s really beautiful, look at you you’re really deep. Vicky created 4 larger
puppets that were positioned above all the smaller ones at the gallery. She
explains symbolizes the ancestors of the African continent who provide peace and
security. So there’s one symbolizing the Yoruba people in Nigeria, one
symbolizing her native Cameroon, one for South Africa and the other for all the
West African countries. I asked Vicky how she felt about this island that she had
created in the middle of lower Manhattan.
Vicky: I think it’s good and I think it’s really like that’s the meaning for me is the, this
what I try to give is going to the people that I feel like I can maybe at the right
time to give something special to people. I don’t know it’s not me its, its not me.
Female: What you have is something special, this is amazing and I feel like it is.
Vicky: Lucky to have that space. Look at the space in the middle of Manhattan, it’s just
because we are in the middle.
Female: You said really back to Africa in the middle of Manhattan. Vicky explains that
birds have a special place in African tradition, these birds represent the souls of
ancestors long gone from the world. I have to tell you this looks amazing, you see
all together and now that they are connected to this, what a beautiful idea you
came up with.
Vicky: Yes.
Female: I thought the stories behind it. I love the bird and the protection and the freedom
and all that, a lot of themes in your art. The nest therefore is also special
signifying the final resting place after the soul has taken flight from the physical
world.
Vicky: The birds are coming from the nest, these are the nest. This is a big nest with all
the beads, the connection of Africa with the African continent which from there.
So the bird they fly, they fly all of them and they go to the African map. For me
they represent that past and also the present and the future, that’s the giving this,
they fly up because they are the symbol of the freedom and independence but at
the same time the nest are here to remember. They may need to come back to their
home because it’s not so easy to be independent or to be free. The 12 big puppets
are the ancestor and they have all the energy to help the birds to fly and to help
this big continent to get the energy that the continents need to become, you know
after 50 years for many of them to be independent. What about the next coming
50 years.
Female: So those are the ancestors.
Vicky: Those are the ancestors and the last bird from the top, the one you see the orange
one, it represents my great, great mother and she was the one who protect me and
protect so this bird is for her.
Female: I had a chance to speak with director of exhibitions Paul Tabor who had more to
say about Vicky’s talents.
Paul: The feed back has been especially the encouraging for us will have on the average
about 40 or 50 people per hour during the course of the day stop by to work at the
case of puppets on the windows. There’s a great concern for ecological themes
that is to say how to take care of gods good creation and it’s in common on us to
take care of god’s creation as it is to live reverently and respectfully with one
another. Respect for the earth and respect for one another really would like to set a
heart of contemporary theological dialogue these days and we think that it’s a
good indication of the way which the museum of biblical are and engage that
contemporary theological discussion by looking at issues of recycling as they
suite of late to the longest established African tradition of recycling.
Female: Vicky Fremont is truly one of a kind, her passion for working with recycled
materials for the soul purpose of preserving and beautifying the earth is all
inspiring and by going back to that extra mile to teach this art to children. She had
truly come a memorable full circle.
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