Artist bio

Breige Wilson is currently an actress with the National Theatre Arts Company of Trinidad and Tobago. She is also a dancer/choreographer, a singer and a former pageant queen. In addition, she is the founder of the Breige Wilson Foundation. She enjoys writing and directing and hopes to pursue it full time in the near future. Her walk with Christ has never been an easy one but she is working on her relationship with God everyday. She attributes all of her success to her Lord and saviour Jesus Christ and her family. Jamal Weekes Jamal Weekes is a young Barbadian creative who seeks to add his voice to the world's book of stories. Already making strides in film with his NIFCA award winning film NeVeR, Jamal aims to grow in all areas of film and stage. He loves storytelling and wants to tell as many Caribbean stories as possible. Lalonde Ochoa Lalonde Ochoa enjoys being a teacher at both the Secondary and Tertiary level in Trinidad & Tobago. His theatre career has afforded him roles as Actor, Director and Traditional Masquerader. He is a notable storyteller and enjoys working with children in creative story building. He aspires to live a journey of constant learning.

Title

Ocean and God's Magical Armour

Medium/Genre

Animated

Artist Statement

Ocean and God's Magical Armour is a story about a 12-year old Caribbean- American girl that dislikes her natural hair texture and dark skintone. Ocean is annoyed that she does not look like the other kids at school and she begs God to magically change her appearance so that she can fit in.
God decides to take her on a spiritual journey where she discovers self-love and acceptance.

The inspiration for this film came from my personal journey to self- love and also a little American girl named Ari who became an online sensation after an instagram video became viral because of her lack of self- acceptance and love.

I wanted to create work that explores the human experience while finding the solutions in the Bible or through a spiritual encounter. I specifically chose bibical characters that may seem forgotten or have an underdog experience which would then influence Ocean and by extension the viewer to realise that there are many other chapters to be written, many stories to tell so don't give up. Hold on, it's just the beginning.

How it fits into contest

Spiritual Battles come in all shapes and sizes. Children are not immune to these experiences so I wanted to target that age group specifically. I also wanted to address universal themes and human experieneces that were raw, honest and sometimes difficult for parents to address with their kids. Hair texture and colourism is a big issue in the Caribbean, Black and Latino communities and I wanted to address it but find a creative, God-inspired and fun way to resolve it.

In the film, Ocean has a very honest relationship with God, she does not hide her frustrations from him and the viewer will also notice that God is constantly finding solutions for her.

The whole armour of God was explored through Ocean's prayer, God's response, the reading of the bible, knowing the TRUTH and of course LOVE.

Kids can learn about 'Strapping on God's Armour' just like Ocean while developing their confidence, self -love and a form of protection against negative thought patterns.

Credits

Directed and Narrated by Breige Wilson
Musical Score by Breige Wilson
Written by Breige Wilson
Artwork by Sherry Ann Asson- Wilson
Edited by Jamal Weekes

Transcript / Lyrics

Ocean and God's Magical Armour
Written by Breige Wilson

Ocean curled up on her bed that cold, winter's night, trying to trap her tears with all of her might. She longed to fit in at school today, but the other kids would not let her play. They insisted that there was no room for a chocolate, kinky haired girl like her. Ocean was a diamond that yearned to be a pearl.

She disliked her kinky hair and her sun-kissed skin. So, everyday she washed, scrubbed it, cursed it as though it was a sin.

Ocean soon avoided mirrors and she seldom took pictures. She hated to showcase her beautiful smile and she never looked at you straight in the eye.

Ocean could not seem to understand why God made her this way. So, she challenged him and insisted that her hair and complexion would magically fade away.

Ocean's displeasure did not sit right with God, so, he strapped on his armor by presenting a few biblical stories, for her, to ponder on.

The next morning, she rushed to the Bible and to her surprise, she read about Queen Esther, who, with God's provision, continued to thrive.

Ocean enthusiastically turned the pages, eager to see what next she may find, the book of Genesis popped open and the story of Joseph blew her mind.

Next on the agenda, was the epic tale of King David, the little shepherd boy that defeated Goliath, with God, 5 stones and his sling.

Looking into the mirror, Ocean soon felt a change of heart. She realised that her coily hair and dark skin was God's work of art.

Ocean now stands on God's word and she believes that she is indeed beautiful. But, she never forgets to strap on God's armour so that her spirit would remain unshakeable.

Ocean loves herself. She knows the truth, and she is inviting you, to strap on God's armour and to love yourself too.

Submit Your Artwork Today!

Curious? Interested in submitting artwork to our contest? Know someone who might be? Through April 14th, 2022, the Engage Art Contest is open to the whole world! Get your foot in the door by claiming your Artist Page now!