The second part of I is AnOther, at New art Exchange in Nottingham, aims to change our understanding of Jamaican society and art© Bartosz Kali
Part one of I is AnOther, New art Exchange’s identity-focused look at Jamaica on the 50th anniversary of the country’s independence, featured work by Liverpool Biennial star Hurvin Anderson and Storm Saulter, the founder of the New Caribbean Cinema.
Not to be outdone, the second instalment introduces a makeshift hairdressing salon and life-sized falling dominoes among creations by some of the best sculptors, painters, moving image and installation artists working across Jamaica and the diaspora today.
In a particularly powerful work, Ebony G Patterson – a mixed media artist appearing domestically for the first time – examines beauty, celebration, ritual and death against the turbulent environment of the Tivoli Gardens community in West Kingston, where violence and drugs are aspects of everyday life.
The idea is to change our understanding of Jamaica’s culture. “Cultural stereotypes prevail in which indigenous food is never considered fine cuisine,” points out curator Rachael Barrett.
“Locally-made fashion cannot compete as couture, and local art fights classification as that more lowly cousin – class.”
Poverty, crime, racial assumptions and issues of assimilation also come under the spotlight in a preconception-defying show of the kind the Nottingham gallery has become renowned for accommodating with panache.
- Open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm. Admission free. Follow the gallery on Twitter @newartexchange.
More pictures:
© Bartosz Kali
© Bartosz Kali
© Bartosz Kali
© Bartosz Kali
© Bartosz Kali
