Free Will- Asia Clarke
Client: Asia Clarke, a multidisciplinary artist and development consultant whose practice spans creative visualization, local economic development, entrepreneurship, and cultural expression. Her career across four countries has advanced poverty reduction, job creation, equality, and human rights. Alongside this, Asia has cultivated a practice in hair artistry and sculpture, drawing on Afro-Caribbean heritage and aesthetics to create works of profound cultural resonance
Project Overview:
DēpART first collaborated with Asia Clarke during the debut exhibition Touch at La Foundation for the Arts in Accra, where Asia was commissioned to create JUMBIE — her first sculptural work. The piece, inspired by Afro-Caribbean heritage and hair aesthetics, sold on opening night, marking a pivotal moment in her artistic trajectory.
Encouraged by this success, Asia expanded JUMBIE into a new body of work. The resulting series, FREE WILL: Manifestors of Realities, comprises five wooden portrait sculptures — contemporary reimaginings of nsodie (ancestral figures) — carved in honour of Afro-Caribbean freedom fighters. Each sculpture is adorned with intricately styled hair, transforming the pieces into manifestations rather than monuments, inviting audiences to reflect on resistance, ritual, and reclamation.
The series is accompanied by a historically grounded text written by Fiona Compton, Caribbean Ambassador, historian, and founder of Know Your Caribbean, the largest online platform dedicated to preserving and sharing Caribbean culture.
With DēpART’s continued support, Asia’s works are now being presented internationally. At The Fuze Caribbean Art Fair in Nassau, Bahamas, DēpART is hosting a booth for What the Ancestors Whispered — a quiet yet expansive offering that pairs Clarke’s sculptural homages with the drawings of Bryony Ella, exploring how ancestral knowledge moves through matter, memory, and spirit.
Asia Clarke with her sculpture Jumbie in the background, Accra, Ghana, 2024
DēpART’s Role & Impact:
Talent Recognition & First Commission
Identified Asia’s sculptural potential during her transition into new mediums.
Commissioned her first sculpture, JUMBIE, for Touch at La Foundation, creating the catalyst for her ongoing body of work.
Strategic Partnership Development
Connected Asia with historian and cultural leader Fiona Compton, who is authoring the accompanying publication for FREE WILL: Manifestors of Realities.
Facilitated new audiences and institutional recognition by positioning her work at The Fuze Caribbean Art Fair in a duo presentation with Bryony Ella.
Ongoing Career Support
Provided strategic guidance and positioning, helping Asia leverage the intersectionality of her Afro-Caribbean identity to access funding, networks, and international platforms.
Shaped an exhibition narrative — What the Ancestors Whispered — that situates Asia’s work within global conversations on ancestry, ritual, and cultural continuity.
Lasting Impact
This collaboration has been transformative for Asia’s artistic career. From her first commission to an expanding body of internationally recognized work, Asia has moved from experimentation into full realization of her sculptural practice.
Her own words capture the impact of our partnership:
“DēpART consultancy’s dedication to supporting me as an artist is truly life changing for me. From recognizing my talent, commissioning my artwork and supporting me to access new opportunities and audiences, Chantel has helped open doors in my evolving artist career. Facilitating strategic partnerships is her key strength. She has recognized and leveraged the intersectionality of my identity as an Afro-Caribbean Diasporan to help me secure valuable connections through her networks. She’s thoughtful, distinguished, organized and overall joy to partner with.”
Through FREE WILL and What the Ancestors Whispered, Asia’s work extends beyond sculpture — it is a cultural and cosmological practice, one that honours ancestral knowledge while shaping new futures across the Afro-Caribbean diaspora.