John JOSEPH

Born in 1964 in Port-Vila. His family is from the Sheperd islands

John Jopeph followed art classes at the Lycée Antoine de Bougainville and at the Technical Institute of Vanuatu. He exhibits regularly at the French Cultural Center as part of the Nawita Association. He also sells his work at the market, as they have an illustration touch often of street scenes and market scenes. He has also exhibited in New Caledonia, Sydney, Cook islands.

His vision of art in Vanuatu :"
In Vanuatu, a lot of things are still to be developed in the field of Art. A lot of artists are still hidden on their islands and never had the chance to share their work outside their village. The question of copyright is also complex, especially for the artists who are inspired by traditional art. It is yet impossible to use some of our symbols in our work, as they are taboo. Technical skills have developed a lot and the quality of the arts you may see in Vanuatu is high, it is important to remind everyone that before the 1980s only foreign artists were shown in the exhibition spaces in Vanuatu."
"In my own work, I dream to find harmony between men and Nature. They should never separate as they can not live without each other. I also try to tell people of Vanuatu that it is important to keep our traditional ways of living and be aware of the dangers of the western style of living."