The odour of fresh produce at the Sunday Markets, Vicks rubbed lovingly although be it aggressively over your chest and under your snivelling nose, melting black cake on your tongue, pommecythere and pepper pressed against the roof of our mouth and of course the surge of excitement you get from the very first glimpse or partial shove from your peers when you see Pretty Mas. These are some of intimate sentiments that as a Trinbagonian you have the privilege of experiencing. They tie you to one another and become a sacred well of nostalgia large and generous enough to supply a lifetime of longing. You share an intrinsic connection with other Trinis and Caribbean people when it comes to the hysteria and happiness Carnival brings. It is a silent knowing that we have the opportunity to witness the average man and woman express themselves, soaked in self-confidence and embracing their physical and emotional freedom. It is also an excitement that prefaces Carnival Monday and Tuesday when you witness the creations of talented Mas makers and designers. The entire art of Mas Making seems to embody a spiritual reconnection to the past and even the future then channelling it into the present. Trinidadian scholar, Kevin Adonis Browne, author of ‘High Mas: Carnival and the Poetics of Caribbean Culture’ states that “Mas is a mentality, a way of understanding who we are and where we stand.’ Few have that gift to surrender themselves fully as a vessel for the past and present to instil a sense of self and pride to the audiences. We think of the greats like Peter Minshall, Brain MacFarlane and Allyson Williams who have produced some iconic Mas creations over the years. Sean De Freitas, founder and creative director of his own events and arts company, was once inspired to not just participate in Mas but create it. The Trinidadian-born artist was once crowned ‘National Junior Carnival King’ at just 11 years old which set the stage for him to win ‘National King of Carnival’ 11 years later. This love for Carnival, Mas and the design process allowed him to discover one of his true passions. After moving to South Florida to study advertising, Sean began working in the Special Events industry realizing his passion for costumes could bring a fresh approach to events. He opened his company, Designs by Sean, here in Florida in 1994. In 1995, Designs by Sean expanded from a one-employee business to a company employing a full-time staff of 21 with multiple manufacturing departments. Sean hit the international market in 1996 and founded ‘Designs by Sean’, a multi-faceted design house capable of producing every element of an event. You can find more of his unique work here: https://designsbysean.com/overview.html Sean's work has been recognized with over 35 industry awards including, but not limited to, Site "Crystal Recognition Awards", International Special Events Society (ISES) "Esprit Awards", Event Solutions Magazine "Spotlight Awards" and Special Events Magazine "Gala Awards". Sean has designed events for many corporate companies, including American Express, Google, Shawn Carter Foundation, Cisco, Disney, Universal, Cirque du Soleil, The M.B.A., Carnival Cruise Lines to name a few. Today, not only does Sean excel in the event design space but he has also nurtured his own art by creating exhibitions like ‘ReinArtation’ on his online gallery found at https://www.galleryeleveneleven.com/sean-de-freitas/ . The exhibition is a triumph both in sentimentality and sustainability. Items once discarded or perhaps deemed unusable were reinvigorated by De Freitas as he constructed abstract sculptures and creations embodying existential, familial, socio-political and spiritual themes. The rustic allure of pieces like ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’ and ‘Combatant’ coupled with intricately and strategically placed vintage adornments highlight De Freitas’ unwavering attention to detail. Through the rubble, he was empowered to create some truly thought-provoking pieces. It is certainly a gift to see past the rust and uncover the rich. Inspired by the concept of reincarnation, De Freitas chose to breathe life into an array of rusted and refused items thereby performing artistic reincarnation. He delves into his past and reflects upon his career thus far with us. Have a read to see how his creativity has blossomed and how he channels his love for Carnival into his art to this day. 1.Can you give a little background on your journey so far? Why and how did you choose to become an artist? I have always wanted to be an artist. Even when I was a kid I was always trying to create things, choose my own clothes, and rearrange everything in the house. Back then I thought you had to be able to draw and paint to be considered an artist, which I could not do either. Instead, I just made stuff with my hands working off the vision in my head since I could not really draw it. When I look back now at my childhood, I realize I was surrounded by so many great artists that were not necessarily painters, but created 3-D visual art in so many different forms (costumes being the main one). It opened my eyes to the path I would take and becoming what I now know to be an artist. 2. How would define ‘Roots’? Roots as we know it or as stated in the dictionary is relating to something cultural or ethnic in one’s origin. I see it as a cultural DNA that is embedded into one’s journey from birth that unlike actual DNA from your parents. It can enrich and soak into your soul so deeply that it results in charting the journey of your entire life. It has been one of the most important ingredients to who I am today. 3. How important is representing your roots, identity and heritage in your pieces? I think my roots inevitably are represented in everything I do and create, they are embedded in my mind, the way I think, the way I see things. Our parents teach us right from wrong, but the roots of a culture, a country, the childhood, a community, the melting pot of many cultures living together and how they share and intertwine the flavours that result in the creativity, the food, the music- it contributes to what I see, feel and create from. 4. Apart from costume design, you are also a successful interior designer? Can you give us a bit of insight into how you got into it and how it allows you to channel your vision and creative ability? I do event design, which is a form of interior design. It’s just not always permanent. After leaving Art School (where I wanted to do interior design,) I ended up doing Advertising instead, (which I did not like). I started working for an artist here in Fort Lauderdale who did sculpting with rope as well as designing boats for the Winterfest Boat Parade. It showed me I could be an artist using what I had learned from Carnival back home in Trinidad and Tobago. Since I started making costumes at home growing up and seeing the interaction between performer and onlooker, I wanted to take that and apply it to events bring the experience to life. My dream is to have my own art gallery one day but also make it an educational experience for the visitor. Right now, I just have an online Gallery, Galleryeleveneleven.com. But I will always keep dreaming until I get there. 5. What is your creative process for costume design and event design? First comes the inspiration. It could be a movie I saw, or the feeling I got from being in a space or environment. There is always a moment when I get that vision, and then it just starts flowing. I then work straight from my head to the finished product (which if I am working with a crew drives them crazy LOL! ). Since I am the only one that knows what I am making and they cannot see what it is until it all comes together. 6. Do you try to tell a story with each piece or event from when you conceptualise it to ultimately bringing the piece / event to life? Yes, I love story telling, that’s what gives the piece a life or meaning. We all want to be taken on a journey and this journey is the artist’s vision. 7.Where do you get inspiration to create these thought-provoking pieces and event concepts? Everyday life or experiences, I did not realize at the time until I looked at the full collection of the show, how much of my life experiences were in many of the pieces, telling my inner emotions or memories. 8. What do you do when you get the dreaded creative block? I usually walk away or move on to a new piece. The thing is with my Art, I get the idea or vision from one thing and then it changes all along the way as I have to find or feel the right piece to create my story. So, I am always working on multiple pieces at a time, and as I go to get one object for one piece, I find something else for another and jump right back on to that piece. It is constantly evolving until it’s done. 9.Can you give us a bit of insight into your fondest memory of Carnival? As a kid, I would go to the Savanna on Carnival Tuesday and wait for everyone to cross the stage, as this is when they would start giving away their headpieces and standards once the band had been judged. I climbed the fence, begging for their pieces of costumes and collecting as much as I could carry and go home and dismantle them all and make my own costumes from the scraps. In 1976, my creative life would be changed forever when Wayne Berkley dressed me in costume as ‘King Richard, the Lion Heart’ for kiddies’ carnival on my own white pony. I was crowned Junior King of Carnival. From that moment forward I told my mom this is what I want to do for the rest of my life. I always look back at that experience and know that it began there. 10.Has your heritage become a source of inspiration for your costume design? Without a doubt. Without having grown up in Trinidad and being a part of Carnival everything I have created would be so different. The energy of the people and culture at home was so inspiring. I witnessed a nation sometimes with its differences come together every Carnival and celebrate joy and love and creativity. I am so glad I grew up at home during these periods to be influenced by the Carnival Greats on my time, when Carnival was Carnival!!! 11.Who are some of your artistic inspirations/ role models? There are so many great artists out there. Most never get the recognition they deserve, I am inspired sometimes by their story as much as by their art. It is so subjective with Art, like love it is all in the eye of the beholder. My biggest source of inspiration is Nature! If you look at the colours, shapes, textures, and shadows, it is all original and we are the ones that try to recreate it in some shape and form. 12.Your pieces are innovative and even avant-garde. Are you inspired by any artistic movements? How have they influenced your creations? Actually, over the years my taste in art has broadened to many different styles. I love colour and texture. As far as my art I think I have been most influenced by the “Outside Art”/ Folk Art. This whole movement of Art from the African-American South. What this has taught me is to look at Art from a whole different perspective and that you don’t have to go to Art School or be taught specific technics to be an artist. Sometimes creating Art from nothing or whatever you have to work with and transforming it into something artistic is way more creative than having everything at your disposal. My pieces have more to the eye that the first look. Most of the time there is a story to be imagined or told. 13.Your ‘Reinartation’ exhibition was phenomenal. The idea of creating novelty from artefacts and items that have been used. ‘Like Mother like Daughter’ was one of my personal favourites and it frankly took my breath away. What inspired the concept? I was always collecting pieces of things as a kid and would always go down to the Antique shop down the hill after school and get lost with all the artifacts until my mom would call and say, ‘Is he there? Send him home for dinner.’ With ‘Like Mother, Like Daughter’, it started out with just the bigger piece which was an old Gas lantern from London with Venetian glass from an old chandelier creating the flowers. I love mixing different textures. It sat there for a while by itself and I knew it was missing something. But I did not know what. And then I found the small oil can and it just clicked in my head, almost like the tea pot and tea cup in ‘Beauty and the Beast’. I love relationships between moms and their children. It’s a special thing. 14. What were some themes you wanted to portray in ‘Reinartation’? I think I can go to many places with’ ReinArtation’ , the name came to me once I started putting objects together one day in my studio during Covid. I also was watching a documentary on Reincarnation at the same time and thought to myself ‘I am giving new life or identity to all these objects’. Some of which were rusted broken or were just unique items that together could tell a story or recreate a new vision. My definition or the word is ‘Rein.ART.ation’. The art of taking something from its original use and transforming it into a new creative vision or experience. 15.What was your most challenging piece to create in the exhibition and what was your favourite? ‘The Combatant’ was my most challenging piece since it was the heaviest and there was just a lot of welding and structural elements. ‘Chasing Time’ and ‘The Realm of Tomorrow’ are my favourites but the most personal piece to me in the show was ‘The Blossoming Tears’. 16.What were some major challenges that you overcame to become the artist you are today? I think never giving up and believing that when the time was right it would fall into place and happen. There have been many times when things go wrong but somehow I always find a solution. I think that is one of my strongest assets- solving problems. I am a big believer that things happen for a reason. There is always a guardian angel looking out for me . 17.How long did it take you to identify and master your style and thematic choices? Is this an ongoing process? When I look back now, I realize that I have always been taking things and reworking or repurposing them into something else. I did not notice that until I had done the show and looked back at past projects and notice I was reusing stuff. I hate to throw something away as I feel It still has a purpose and I always find a way to use it in a different manner, even in all my events. 18.How do you intend on pushing the envelope and going further with your costume design, interior design and events? Do you have new themes to be explored? I feel now with my costumes I want to work more on specific projects using my costumes more as art pieces, who knows I may start incorporating them in my art exhibits. As far as events, I have always done them for other people. Now or in the future, I would love to explore doing my own multimedia show incorporating all three elements on my craft and putting them together into an immersive journey. 19.You have had the opportunity to work with some of the biggest companies in the world. Did you ever find yourself in a position where you had to compromise your artistic vision for a more commercial approach? If so, how did you navigate this dilemma? Yes, when working for corporations, there is always borders to work within. That is why I am enjoying my new journey with my Art. I get to control and do whatever I want and express my unedited visions. In the past when faced with these dilemmas there was always a solution. I believe when creating, always reach for the stars, knowing that most of the time you will be pulled back into the atmosphere. But even there, it still will be great. 20.I am sure you are aware of the ‘Bikini and Beads’ take over when it comes to contemporary Carnival costume design in the Caribbean. What do you think of the evolution of Carnival costumes and the current state of Carnival costume design? As I had mentioned earlier, I am so glad I grew up at a time when Carnival was Carnival! Don’t get me wrong it is still there, just changed with a whole new perspective. Like everything in the world today, it is constantly changing, and the new generations want different things. We had such a great talented group of designers back in the 70s to the 2010s. Some are still here, the problem is that the mas player wants something else, and it’s so sad to see that creative spirit and talent lost to just what people want now. I think back to the days of spectacle in the streets, the excitement of waiting to see what Minshall is coming with, the magical sounds of David Rudder, the pandemonium of the North stand during Panorama, so many great memories, and the people of that time know exactly what I am talking about. 21.I am sure you have incorporated tech in both your costume design and event design given the scale and level of imagination you bring to your pieces. In the age of Chap GPT and AI, the advancing technologies and how they are incorporated into art is extremely exciting. I am curious to know how you think AI could impact the event space and even costume design? I think all new aspects of technology bring a new exciting medium to the table. It has changed the event world incredibly and brought so many new easier possibilities to design. It can be used by itself or as a new layer to something stagnant giving it life and movement. I have been playing with mixing these elements together which I did in a few of my pieces from my show. 22.Would you be keen to incorporate AI into your events and costume design ? Yes for sure, it is still so new and constantly evolving so quickly, but it will change both the art world and everything around it, I just hope it never takes away the human aspect or touch of creating Art. 23.What advice would you give an up-and-coming creative that you wish you got? Always stay true to yourself, knowing that one day you will get your time and stage to share your passion and language of who you are and what you want to express to the world. Art is a language that has many translations, you as the Artist can express your own. 24.What is one piece of art that deeply resonated with you, and you still get inspiration from to this day? I have a painting that I bought when I was 21. It is from one of Trinidad’s greatest Artist Bosco Holder .I saved up all my money for a year paying it off back in 1988, and it always reminds me of home and my Roots, and to never forget where I came from. It hangs in my bedroom close to my heart. 25.What is one piece/ series of works you have produced that you are immensely proud of? Why? Even though I have won many awards throughout my career I still feel my greatest piece was one of my first “The Visitor” the costume I built for myself in 1988 for Carnival. It was my childhood dream to build and perform a costume to cross that Savana stage and compete with all my mentors. What made it so special was the group of people that came every night to help me build it in what we call the Mas Camp, they had no idea what I was building as it was in my head but believed in my Vision. That was a perfect example of when we say our Roots, for it was what that whole experience was about. It was the coming together of people from all backgrounds including children and helping create a moment in my life that will last a lifetime. 26.What is one thing you do to take care of your mental health and artistic spirit? I spend a lot of time alone, thinking (overthinking some people might say ) but we live in such a fast pace and crazy world these days, we need to take time away from everything and experience nature more and silence , it is very calming and cleansing. The most beautiful things are all around us and free ,we must savour them . 27.Fun question: (A podcast/ book/album/ piece of art that you recommend to our readers) I do not read much since I am ADHD, so I absorb life mostly through my visual experiences. All I would say is nature to me is still the most powerful and beautiful source of our life’s experiences that’s your breath away. It is life in the purest form that is always evolving and always Original.