Zoe Osborne is a physical and virtual interior designer and digital artist. A graduate of the Ryerson School of Interior Design, she founded Mahogany Culture in 2016 “to retain Caribbean culture and establish what it looks like in a modern context.”
In March 2020 she launched “Mahogany Exposition: What Is ‘Contemporary’ Caribbean Culture?”, a digital art exhibition which she curated. The exhibition featured the works of creatives from Barbados, the Caribbean, and the Diaspora. She also curated the “Free_Space” exhibition at UNCTAD 15 in October 2021, the “Non-Traditional” exhibition at the Caribbean Fine Art Fair in March 2021 and March 2022, and the upcoming exhibition “Reality”.
Osborne doesn’t just curate exhibitions, her own work has been exhibited as well. She was featured in “ISLND x WIDE AWAKES: Together We Are Awake”, “A Surreal Dream – Architecture in the Metaverse”, “Alternative Reality”, “BLACK*RARE”, and “Windows to Paradise”.
In addition to being an artist and curator, Osborne is a purveyor of NFTs.
What is the first work of yours that you released to the public? How was it received?
In early 2020 I created an exhibition focused on Caribbean Culture in Art and due to the pandemic I ended up making it into a digital animation. This may not have been the first piece of creative work that I released, but I definitely consider it to be the launch of my creative career.
It was well received and, after putting it out, I got many opportunities that led me to where I am today; freelancing and exploring my creativity and artistic expression digitally. I got a lot of positive feedback as well as some constructive criticism.
Who are your influences and what have you learned from them?
The main influence of everything I do is the Barbadian community. My interest in Caribbean history, culture, and architecture was heavily influenced by my mother, uncles, and my family and the discussions and experiences I had with them exploring the island as a kid.
I learned about the history and tangible and intangible elements of our culture from our Sunday drives[.] [W]e looked for houses or visited gullies while my family debated historical stories about each place we visited.
Using this knowledge and interest as a foundation of my creative journey, I have been influenced by Errol Barrow’s [M]mirror [I]mage speech and the many successful people in today’s generation that use their culture in creative ways of self-expression, identity, and business.
When/How did you realise that this is what you wanted to do with your life?
I always felt that I was meant to work with Culture and identity and to use my voice to add to the diversity of what is considered Caribbean Culture, but initially I wasn’t sure exactly how that would translate into a job.
As I got commissions to create digital works, I started to see how I could use this platform to represent the Caribbean in a new form. The more I pushed myself and created from my memory and nostalgia of the spaces I visited as a child, I just had this comforting sense of purpose and fulfillment within me. It was just like: ” This is what I’m meant to do.”
What would you say is the best decision you’ve ever made in your career thus far?
I am at a point in my career where I’m still waiting to see how each decision that I make will play out in the long run, but so far I can say that by creating and learning and just pushing myself to find ways to do the projects that come to mind without letting any barriers stop me has been very rewarding.
One thing that I have adapted into my practice is to “just do it in whatever way I possibly can”.
When was the first time that you felt like your work was appreciated?
When I created the first project I had a submission form for feedback and seeing all of the comments on how people enjoyed the art and also how the experience was curated was very fulfilling for me. I knew that the work I was doing with other artists and what I was creating was really appreciated. That has been a huge fuel for me in my career as well.
