The Jamaica Project series and Dancing Words series are both actually a commentary on sexism and violence in Jamaica. I'm using the work to explore the issues surrounding the dichotomy of an island that is so open and fun loving (ie people love to sing and dance and can be very welcoming) yet there is also this angry violent side that seeths underneath and I find it interesting that the two sit side by side on a kind of volatile knife edge and the two come together and break apart at various times. I realise that there's an intricate web of social issues that cause this and wonder if there is any hope of breaking the barriers down and cutting through all the corruption and dogma that causes the web to grow. I've also always been fascinated with the fact that Jamaica is a largely matriarchal society yet women are portrayed as purely sex objects in alot of the party media and to a certain extent in the media as a whole. I have often heard Jamaica being described as a matriarchal society, which it may not be in the most literal sense but it does have elements of being one and I find it interesting that women seem to offer up this little bit of power in order to hang onto the other portions of power, they are the breadwinners, the educated ones and they hold the family units together. But they perpetuate this facade that the men are the heads of the household and this too often manifests itself in domestic violence and various forms of abuse. This in my opinion is a legacy or old fashioned Victorian values imposed by colonial society and I feel strongly that new generations, both male and female, on the island are breaking this mold and waking up and saying No More.
I guess the sentiments don't come through in all the images I make but a lot of the time the the phrases I use have double meanings and along with the images are presented with a layer of irony. I want my viewers to do a little mental athletics and want them to ask questions about the work; why has a woman painted this sexist image; is the woman in this painting really powerless; what does this phrase really mean; Why is it being juxtaposed with this image; etc. I do use more blatant statements of protestation such as "The Dragon no like water cuz it put out him flame" which is a direct commentary on corruption. But in smaller pieces like More Fire the interpretation is less black and white. The phrase "More Fire" has been long banded about in Jamaican society, mostly as a output of exasperation and interpretation of political tactics or garrison politics. It seems that the easiest answer is "More Fire" and using guns and violence to control the population. In my work the phrase is used with a level of irony that I hope is apparent.
