#sexypink/Emancipation Day

[sexypinkon]

Today,emancipation day here in Trinidad and Tobago is a timely occasion to announce a significant commission I was chosen to be part of earlier this year.The St James’s Church Piccadilly, London has commissioned me to create  four new paintings which will be installed permanently at the entrance of the church.The commission marks the 250th anniversary of the baptism of Quobna Ottobah Cugoano, a prominent abolitionist of the time and a significant figure in the history of Britain. He was baptised at the church, on 20th August 1773.The fist thing that struck me is that I knew nothing about Cugoano and his life and work as major abolitionist. 

That in itself speaks volumes about how history has been told.I am humbled to discover who he was and more than honoured to be chosen to commemorate his life and what he stood for.This will be the first permanent art commission to commemorate Cugoano’s life anywhere in the world.Ottobah Cugoano was born around 1757 in that part of west Africa now known as Ghana. At the age of 13, he was kidnapped by slave traders before being shipped to the West Indies. Cugoano was sold to a plantation owner in Grenada. In 1772 He was bought by an English merchant and brought to the UK, gaining his freedom that same year.Cugoano was very active in the ‘Sons of Africa’ group which condemned the practice of slavery and campaigned for its abolition. They lobbied public figures and wrote regularly to the newspapers. Cugoano became a forthright critic of slavery and his influential book, ‘Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery’ (1787) is still in print today.“ 

Lovelace’s work not only connects with the geographies and legacies of the abhorrent Transatlantic slave trade but also evokes an honest, lyrical, sun-filled exaltation of what a vibrant future with open acknowledgement of these histories might look like. Thinking through what the act of Baptism means in theological terms, there is a sense of emerging out of water into a new tomorrow that the paintings capture.“The unveiling ceremony for the event will be held on September 20th 2023.

[sexypinkon]

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     Jackie Hinkson - From Emancipation to Canboulay. Charcoal. Circa 1999.

[sexypinkon]

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                  Happy Emancipation Day image from Che Lovelace

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Sexypink - Happy Emancipation Day 2023

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SEXYPINK INTERVIEW - JAMAICAN SCULPTOR -LAURA FACEY

In Laura's own words she recalls for Sexypink some of her feelings about making the monument.

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The Naked REDEMPTION SONG Monument

While conceptualizing the design for the monument in 2002, I struggled over the idea of ‘draping’ my figures. In the end I decided it would ‘date’ the work…thinking, being naked would be more timeless.

After the initial shock of Jamaica’s ferocious response to the unveiled monument, I retreated to my own world to ‘wait out’ the outcome. I realized everyone was entitled to their own opinion. Eighteen years after the installation, Maroon Elder Joseph White, explained to me what the monument meant to him and to Jamaica’s history.

“On Emancipation Day, 1st August, 1838, some plantation owners gave another humiliating indignation to their soon to be freed enslaved — they stripped them of their clothing! —‘Bakra seh, uno free but yu clothes no free’. The naked free who took to the roads were arrested for indecent exposure. Their previous owners would be the ones able to release them. The bolder free took to the rivers with the only thing they had left, their modesty and the fact that if accused of being naked they could claim they were bathing.

Rivers symbolically washed away the horror of their lives (the reason the Emancipation figures stand in a pool of flowing water) and shielded them until they arrived at a safer place (rivers follow roads), to, in theory, begin a new life”.  After the unveiling, yes, I was in shock for the first weeks then I was in awe of this ferocious debate for and against the naked figures, which played out for months.

Truthfully, I did question my decision for making them naked but now, 20 plus years later, I ‘give it up’, rightly or wrongly, as inspiration passing through me!

Laura Facey

a reflection on Laura Facey's Redemption Song...

Sexypink - So often when visualizing a work, you never know why you may get a strong hunch or follow a need to add specific symbolism. As I read Laura Facey's recollections on the creation of the monumental Redemption Song in Jamaica, I was particularly struck by the Maroon Elders' words about nakedness at the moment of Emancipation and thereafter.

I believe that works like Ms Facey's endure because it must. The reaction to the nudity by so many during the unveiling questions how far we have come in regard to slavery itself. It is still debated whether we can put it behind us. It also begs the question of what is freedom itself?

The slave is always reminded of the price it costs to be present. Imagine that the only solace for being stripped of one's dignity repeatedly was to give the impression of bathing as a passive choice. Ms Facey was correct in her instincts about the bare skin, her Adam and Eve, heads held high in the Jamaican hot sun answer the call to their freedom and beyond.

[sexypinkon]

Sexypink - Recently completed show in Barbados. We came on Merchant Ships: Rites, Rituals and Religion. A group show coming on the heels of Emancipation Day celebrations.

Do take a look at the links for more information.

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~  Happy Emancipation Day!

From the Facebook page of Che Lovelace.

On 1 Aug 1985 Trinidad and Tobago became the first country in the world to have a public holiday to celebrate the abolition of African Enslavement.

(It replaced Columbus Discovery Day, which actually commemorated Columbus' landing at Moruga on 31 July 1498.)

I have always been proud of the fact that in T&T we have made  adjustments and emphasized what and why we celebrate certain holidays... (and why it was  necessary  to get rid of some). I would  hope it indicates that we are moving  towards a deeper connection to our own narrative.... and towards a deeper appreciation of each other and our particular histories.

Ultimately, for all of us, freedom is a responsibility...We ought to do amazing things with it!

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~ The making and preparation of ARISE by Gillion Bishop for Emancipation Day 2020

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~ Emancipation Day 2020 was met with the unveiling of the Sculpture “Arise” made of  Repousse with a copper head on brass and copper discs by esteemed Master Jewellery Designer and Artist Gillian Bishop.

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~ The world has changed and that change is phenomenal.

[sexypinkon]

~Sexypink~  Happy Emancipation Day! Read another conversation in the Q&A series. In his exchange with Marsha Pearce, artist Luis Vasquez La Roche reflects on capitalism, labour, racism and exploitation. Learn about the role of performance art in his evolving practice and his use of palm oil – a material tied to the history of slavery. Vasquez La Roche also adds his thoughts to ongoing conversations about monuments. Read the conversation here: https://bit.ly/2D00t2X