Oceana James (she/her) is a St. Croix-born interdisciplinary artist. Her work is an examination/a re-telling/ a re-imagining of her Caribbean indigeneity. It is a commentary on the socio-political, cultural, and economic realities of peoples of African descent. In her work James deconstructs the idea of language as one’s sole means of communication and experiments with the use of time, space, non-linear form and movement to do this. Additionally, she uses her Caribbean “Nation Language” to further explore the mythologies and stories that she grew up hearing. Right now, her research is centered on epigenetics, trees, (the biology and mythology), the intersection of science, spirituality, agriculture; and the use of the body to embody and then exorcise the traumas of colonialism.

Oceana grew up hearing stories/folktales and is proud to continue the long legacy and tradition of storytelling from the Caribbean. On the island of St. Croix, James has worked with The Caribbean Community Theatre; Moving Women Ensemble Theatre; Per Ankh Inc.; St. Croix Sankofa for the Cultural Arts; and artists such as Opal Palmer Adisa, La Vaughn Belle, David Edgecombe, and Monica Marin, to name a few.