At left, Jacob and the Angel oil on hardboard 1999. At right, the artist collage and watercolour on paper 2003. Sana Rose, Contributor
AT THE entrance to the exhibition, the technique is the first thing that greets you relief paintings with images cut from wood and forms modelled with what appears to be a combination of sand and a binding agent, which is glued to hardboard and painted with oil paint. Among them hang a few pieces, which utilise only paint and a sole mixed media collage. The style of work is unmistakable; these are the works of Michael Parchment.
The solo display, dubbed The Gift of Intuition is currently on view at Grosvenor Galleries and features works from 1993 to the present.
As Parchment is self-taught, his style of work is in keeping with the approach other self-taught Jamaican artists who, in local circles, are often referred
to as "intuitive".
The images tend to be very colourful, the forms flat and rendered with a childlike flair. The artist's works, while reminiscent of the paintings of the late Allan 'Zion' Johnson in their tilted picture planes and brightly coloured attire of his figures, differ in the scale of people to the surrounding scenery.
Zion's figures are scaled down and set within the landscape amid architecture, but in Parchment's case, it is clear that the main subjects of his paintings are people. The surrounding scenery functions as background often forming decorative patterns as foliage while the protagonists are given an embossed finish, which pushes them toward us literally as they sit in the front of the picture plane. The heads of the figures are often in profile and in keeping with the rest of the picture; the bodies are curvilinear and are outlined in black in some areas. With the exception of the background in some pieces where Parchment mixes the paint on the surface so that nuances of each colour remain, the images are given solid colours for clothes, foliage, hair and skin.
Singular scenes are depicted in Parchment's relief paintings, most of which are bordered in uncomplimentary gold frames. The painter, who is also a poet he has five published volumes of poetry under his belt conjures up images in both genres of the arts that form the core of his focus. These include aspects of Jamaican culture sports, music and social behaviour and religious concerns with peace and unity as sub-themes.
Two Against One in France recalls the Reggae Boys' trip to the World Cup and The Days of the Shilling & the Penny combines the memory of black consciousness, family, security and achievement in the days of old in Jamaica while Jacob and the Angel, Nativity and God the Father, God the Son relate to popular Christian themes.
In D-Day, Parchment's version of the tragic September 11 attack on the twin towers in the United States rendered in paint only, he interprets the scene rather interestingly by merging rural and urban scenes. People, including a fish vendor are seen, some on bicycles and others in cars as they witness the incident while trees share the same scale as the surrounding buildings.
The towers sway on impact as the planes collide with them. The cartoon-like image is brightly coloured but as we look closer we see among the spectators, a preacher who reads from the Bible the apocalyptic vision Parchment steers us to see.
Gift of Intuition is Michael Parchment's affirmation of his gift as artist to visually capture issues with which he is concerned, in a technique that he has practised and developed for a number of years. The slight variations in the technique point to the artist's persistent control over his style and method of painting. It would be good to see where else he can take the technique. Even though it is unmistakably Parchment's, further experimentation of his gift of intuition may take him further. The painting titled The Artist which combines collage and watercolour seems to be pointing a way forward. The painting utilises metaphors in much the same way as his poetry to talk about his occupation as artist and its benefits. The exhibition continues until September 10.
