Brad Pinnock - Stupid Box, 2022, video installation, at New Local Space, Kingston This new series puts the spotlight on the exciting young artists who have emerged in Jamaica in recent years, many of them as graduates of the Edna Manley College. The features will be based on studio visits (virtual and actual) and interviews,... Continue Reading →
A Book and a Monument, “Lest We Forget”
Detail of Lest We Forget (Photo: Veerle Poupeye) On February 27, I attended the unveiling of the Lest We Forget monument at the Joy Spence Appleton Rum Experience in Nassau Valley, St Elizabeth. The monument, which commemorates the persons who were enslaved at Appleton, was designed and executed by a young Jamaican sculptor, Trishaunna Henry,... Continue Reading →
“Fons et Origo”: The 2022 School of Visual Arts Final Year Exhibition
Installation view, Jahmani Council (photographed by Robert Ayre, courtesy of the EMC) This post was first published in the Monitor Tribune (then the Jamaica Monitor) in two parts, on August 21 and August 28, 2022. It is reproduced here with minor changes and more images. Every year in June, the School of Visual Arts (SVA)... Continue Reading →
Review: The 2020 Edna Manley College Fine Arts Graduates
Rohmearo McFarlane, Independent Study, 2020, mixed media installation This article was originally published in the Jamaica Monitor, in two parts, on May 30 and June 6, 2021, respectively. More images have been added. All photographs are by Joni Gordon, courtesy of the Edna Manley College. Part I The year 2020 was a challenging year for... Continue Reading →
Panopticon: Standing in the Pandemic
Dumain Bent - Hell is Other People (2020), Mixed media installation, size irregular, c 9 x 5' Below is my foreword for the exhibition Panopticon: Standing in the Pandemic, which was curated by the students in my Introduction to Curatorial Studies course at the Edna Manley College. The exhibition is on view until May 10... Continue Reading →
Talking Back: Visual Conversations about Sexual Abuse
The Edna Manley College, where I teach, has been in the news recently with allegations of sexual harassment. Here is not the place to comment on that particular instance but it is widely recognized that it is part of a much bigger problem in Jamaica, that affects many, if not all public and private sector... Continue Reading →