ACQUILLE DUNKLEY

I must start off with a disclaimer. These images are not photographs. They were created digitally on a computer. 

This body of work belongs to a larger collection of 30 images that I worked on over 7 years. Island Influences is a sub-collection that displays a direct relation to the island culture I was born and raised in.

I migrated to America when I was 16 and during my college years there, I studied photography and art history while teaching myself 3D digital art. These skills equipped me with the tools I needed to create narratives that speak about the everyday experiences Caribbean people go through. What you are looking at is a photorealistic image, digitally created with painting and photography techniques in mind. The use of light is important in the portrayal of emotions needed to convey each story. 

In Portrait of Red Jerk Pan, I wanted to personify the jerk pan as a symbol of high status. Similarly to a portrait painting of a royal aristocrat, I wanted to place this scene into a high class viewing of my culture. Growing up on an island has made me appreciate the nature of its warm winds and cool waters. The busy streets and the lively homes on Sunday evenings are all vivid memories I want the viewers to relive through my work.

For an in-depth interview with Acquille please see the audio file below. 

Acquille Dunkley is a Jamaican artist, currently living in Los Angeles, California. He found his passion for the arts around the age of 15 and has been creating ever since. Dunkley works in the movie industry in Los Angeles as a motion graphic designer. He has worked on projects for ABC, Disney, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Fox Sports and Apple TV — just to name a few.