By Claude Mills, Staff Reporter 'REDEMPTION SONG', the sculpture created by Laura Facey Cooper and which now stands at the entrance to Emancipation Park, New Kingston, has ignited a firestorm of criticism since it was unveiled by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson on Emancipation Day, August 1.
Sculptress Laura Facey Cooper has quietly weathered the storm since then, largely unruffled by the raging debate.
"I didn't think I would escape controversy but I had no idea that the controversy would be this huge. However, I view the controversy as being all good because, at least, it gives people the chance to express their feelings and views and continue the process of learning and growing spiritually," she said.
The male and female bronzed figures rest on a concrete base with their legs in a pool of water. Under the figures, the Bob Marley/Marcus Garvey-inspired line "...none but ourselves can free our mind" is written in large, clear letters. It took Laura Facey Cooper five months to build the sculpture, but only days for the court of public opinion to declare it "obscene".
Asked what was her intended artistic statement, Mrs. Facey Cooper responded:
"Prayer is what I intended. In the words of Dr. David Boxer, who sent me an e-mail last night, 'I see two black human beings resplendent in their purity, their heads raised heaven-wards in prayer... Yes, this is a prayer. The work is a silent hymn of communion with and thanksgiving to the Almighty'."
"I didn't know that Alvin Marriott's piece would have created such controversy when it was placed there August 1, last year. But the selection board of the National Housing Trust had chosen my work before any of the controversy had started, long before Marriott's piece had been placed there," she said.
Q: Why couldn't the figures in your work have emancipated themselves wearing clothes?
Facey Cooper (laughing): "...I never considered clothes... In the creative process, I just went for the essence of what emancipation would have meant for slaves. I didn't see things from a distance, I don't know if I would do things any differently now but I am not apologetic, not disappointed, not anything.
"In fact, I am very hopeful that in the future, the public will understand the work for what it is, a prayer by two black slaves in a 'healing stream'. Nudity is part of their rebirth in freedom," she said.
Some of Mrs. Facey Cooper's other works of art include 'Earth to Earth' in the University of Technology (UTech) Sculpture Park, 'Christ Descending' in the St. Andrew Parish Church, and 'Prince of Peace' in the Pan-Caribbean Merchant Bank.
"Right now, I am excited about life, and how I am growing spiritually. I am definitely energised and looking forward to my next project," she said.
