Tracy Johnson’s latest collection, The Mind is a Lunatic, will be on exhibition at Medulla Art Gallery on September 4 to 25.
The show delves into the restless and often unpredictable nature of perception itself. Through bold compositions and a heightened interplay between realism and abstraction, Johnson explores the mind as both creator and trickster—an entity capable of shaping entire realities while simultaneously distorting them.
These works confront the universal struggle with “mind stuff,” reminding us that no one is exempt from the battles waged within our own thoughts. In this series, she invites viewers to examine their inner landscapes and consider how the lens of perception colours every aspect of lived experience.
Tracey Johnson is a Trinidadian painter whose work merges the precision of realism, the wonder of surrealism, and the emotional resonance of abstraction. Working primarily in oil on canvas, Johnson transforms photographs taken across Trinidad into deeply personal visual narratives, each layered with creativity, depth, and a quiet patriotism.
A graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design (OCAD) in Canada, Johnson’s formal education provided a foundation—but her artistic evolution has been largely self-directed. After returning to Trinidad, she worked briefly in advertising before dedicating years to raising her three children. Art remained a quiet undercurrent during those years, practiced privately at what she describes as a “hobbyist level.”
As her children grew more independent, Johnson returned to painting with renewed intensity. Her early exhibitions in Trinidad marked a period of exploration, moving from creating works to please others toward painting as an act of introspection. This shift was fueled by personal upheavals—periods of emotional turbulence that, though challenging, became catalysts for self-discovery and authenticity in her art.
Today, Johnson’s canvases weave together familiar Caribbean imagery with enigmatic, dreamlike elements that invite deeper reflection. The result is work that feels both rooted and untethered—grounded in the unique textures of Trinidadian life, yet touched by something universal and otherworldly.
The show opens with a reception on Thursday September 4 from 7 to 9 pm at Medulla Art Gallery and runs until September 25.
On Thursday 18 September, the Gallery will host an Artist’s Talk with Tracey Johnson in conversation with Poet Shivanee Ramlochan from 7 to 9pm.
The exhibition is FREE and open to the public on Mondays to Fridays from 10am to 6pm; and Saturdays from 11am to 2pm.
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