In Conversation with Edny Jean
In Conversation with Edny Jean Joseph
A short film by Gregory “Oreoflip” Pierrelouis
Essay by Ana Clara Silva
It was an extremely sunny afternoon when I met with Edny Jean Joseph and Gregory Pierre-Louis at The Corner bar in Miami to talk about art. We sat outside despite the heat, and it felt nice—The Corner was being used the way it was intended. Greg, who also goes by Oreoflip, had just finished creating a short video about Edny and his practice and I was curious to discuss with them what it means for one artist to create work about another.
In the video, Edny describes how difficult it is to make a message stand out when everything in our surroundings is jam-packed with meaning. His work is a response to this—he creates symbols that hide messages and translate into new languages relating back to his Haitian heritage. All he wants is for his work to be interrogated, and his collages call on you to do just that. The imagery may feel familiar, but the faces and bodies presented are purposefully and powerfully placed in a different context than what we are trained to expect, irony serving as a starting point to question what it all means.
It's interesting, while watching the video you can hear Greg agreeing with Edny as he speaks about certain aspects of his work; this also happened when all three of us met in person. Greg is a multidisciplinary artist and video is one of the mediums he uses to as part of his practice. When I asked him about making a film about a fellow artist, he said it felt natural, like a conversation between two friends who just happen to be using different tools to tell their stories. While he studied at New World School of the Arts (Edny also went there for a few years), Greg explored different avenues for making art, often walking over to the nearby 777 Mall while it was occupied by artist studios and taking the opportunity to engage with what those artists were working on at the time—notably participating in short film productions with Bisque Corp and cultivating an interest in music.
When we spoke about where their ideas intersect, it was clear that they went far beyond a connection in methodology and themes in their artistic practice. Both Edny and Greg were quick to bring up the fact that we should consider new models in the art world, specifically when it comes to sales, royalties, and ownership. Other topics that came up included nostalgia and how although as artists they inevitably actively participate in gentrification, they should at least nurture communities along the way; discussions about where the new local cultural renaissance will be since artistic production feels scattered post-Covid (their guess is North Miami); how artists without a doubt continue to head to NY and LA to cultivate creative energy (they stressed that moving should be considered for the experience itself and not for the expectation that it will change one’s work); and finally, how there was one class at New World that stood out to them, a class in which students had to critique each other’s work, to dig into each other as much as they had to dig into themselves. I saw while sitting around the table and exchanging ideas on that sunny afternoon, often, but not always seeing eye to eye, that this particular class had a lasting effect on both artists.
Edny stated early on in our encounter that art and the art world are two separate things—Greg and I nodded in agreement. I still believe this to be true, but on that day at least, what started out as a discussion about one, led to an important conversation about the other.
Edny Jean Joseph is a Haitian American artist and designer born and raised in Miami, FL. His artwork often deals with historically volatile and traumatic experiences presented as beautiful imagery and he often uses irony as a catalyst for introspection.
Gregory Pierre-Louis is an emerging mixed media and multidisciplinary artist.
Ana Clara Silva is an editor living and working in Miami. With a focus on exhibition catalogues and artist publications, her interest lies in the development of new ideas in order to contribute to a future archive.
This project was made possible by Mitchell Wolfson Sr Foundation through a partnership with New World School of the Arts.