Anthea McGibbon, Gleaner Writer

Photo by Anthea McGibbon/Sub Editor

Former American Ambassador to Jamaica, Rob Warne with wife Sue admires the exhibiting works of Evadney Cruikshank.

The grounds of Harmony Hall was the hub of activity with the opening of an exhibition of Jamaican intuitive art, last weekend. Twelve untrained artists demonstrated from a Jamaican perspective what pure unadulterated artistic expression can be. The show was successful as visitors - both local and international - were transported in a world, seemingly free from intrusion other than nature and spiritual reflections.

A world which gallery co-owner, Annabella Proudlock, herself was drawn into in the 1960s when she was first captivated by intuitives Mallica 'Kapo' Reynolds, Brother Everald Brown and Ras Dizzy. Proudlock feels that more Jamaicans need to explore intuitive art, which is vastly different from roadside art.

bipolar nature

Guest speaker Wayne Cox and his wife, Myrene, have been collecting and documenting art by intuitives, following closely the work of Jamaican Intuitives, for over 20 years. "The field of self-taught art or outsider art has not yet reconciled its bipolar nature," said Wayne Cox.

A brief commentary on the two streams of intuitive art was offered by the avid collector, with special mention of Jamaican intuitive art as evolving from the depth of spiritual awareness as that of Haiti. The other stream of intuitive art originated with the contemporary French artist Jean Dubuffet.

Although sometimes considered harsh, Jamaican intuitive art for Cox reflects the depth of culture, and in some instances an exact narration of tradition.

Overall the strength of the show was the artistic integrity of the exhibitors who in their own way were creative geniuses. The varying strokes illustrating varying textures such as clouds were evidence of this, as the intuitives defied traditional rules of painting.

The exhibiting artists were Albert Artwell, Atasha Artwell Michael Parchment, Lenworth 'Lenny' Mesquita, Ruth Brown, Rebecca Brown, Kingsley Thomas, Chris Harris, Zaccheus Powell, Ras Dizzy, Evadney Cruikshank, Deborah Anglin.

reference

All the way from Canada, Mesquita's works were the immediate focal point.

Originating from St. Ann, Mesquita currently resides in Vancouver, but returns to Jamaica each year for images as reference for his paintings.

Perhaps the only exhibiting intuitive artist who has self-studied international masters such as Picasso, Mesquita held viewers spellbound with the intricate detail of his work. Three pieces, equally strong, were displayed by the artist who was driven to paint when disappointed in the lack of document information about Jamaica in the Vancouver area.

The pieces highlighted the memories he keep alive of Jamaica. 'Sunday Morning Service' is of a church in Port Maria, but ironically depicting a little girl playing with her dog in the church's garden. Along with 'Beach Party' and 'Welcome Home', the piece was considered by George Meikle as an emotional expression.

'Welcome Home' is of an ideal home, set in the lush of the flowering Jamaican countryside. According to George Meikle, Mesquita's works were "very vibrant' the way we [Jamaicans] were and are". "It's as if the artist is saying 'we love ourselves, we love our being', " he added.

fascinating

Rebecca Brown's 'Mystery of the Rock' was another piece considered fascinating as it detailed the layers and patterns of the rock in abstract rhythm.

Interestingly, there were hardly, if any attempt to use shadows, and where colours were mixed, some works appeared muddy. However, the show provided much commentary on Jamaican lifestyles, and the works were an indelible signature art of Jamaica.

A highlighted point of interest was the common use of oil board by the artists who explored from oil and acrylics to watercolours.

well-refined

On the other hand, Zaccheus Powell, who has been exhibiting since the early '60s was the only scupltor on the show. His pieces are usually centred around love, and true to his inspirations the only piece on display, 'Adam and Eve', was well-refined.

Unlike typical figure sculptors, the piece was sculpted thin, but was not delicate — neither in execution nor theme. Each side of the sculpted piece from mahoe reflected a different design of the couple entwined in a romantic embrace. Noticeably, the artist also wore miniature carved pieces of women, done with as much detail and dedication to his theme.

The son of a furniture maker, Powell, says he became an artist purely by chance after he held on to a carving knife as compensation for monies owed to him for music stints.

Ras Dizzy's three pieces are bold into the contemporary age, with his simple yet impacting designs.

Evadney Cruikshank's — 'Funeral', 'Family' and 'Baptism,' — reflected the life she has lived, but had humour in the slight distortion and placement of the images.

'Premier in Jamaica' by Deloris Anglin, and, 'Swimming Party' by Atasha Artwell could well have been by the either artist. The minor differences included the themes, but the human patterns and renderings were somewhat similar.

snappy strokes

Albert Artwell's pieces were strong in colour. Of particular interest was 'The Flood'. For this piece, the continuous outpouring of rain illustrated by unbroken white diagonal lines was more than enough to remind one of the flood from which Noah and his family were saved.

Also interesting was the way the artist used the tip and hairs of the brush and in semi-swirl snappy strokes to illustrate the texture of the sheep's wool in 'The Ten Commandments'.

Michael Parchment was clever in his depiction of 'Family' — an imaginary peacock feeding her son and also in 'Welcome to Harmony Hall' — his vision for the gallery complex. The artist was on hand to share a few tips he learnt from David Boxer, but said his abilities were given to him in his dreams by angels.

Chris Harris 'Ms Lou' demonstrated his uncanny ability to do protraitures, while in 'Whisper', interestingly done on a piece of wood carved in the shape of a fruit, he depicted one common practice of Jamaican. In the artist's 'Countryside', the wash application of the acrylics accentuated the work.

In the words of Venice Fullerton, a visitor from London, the show was "very interesting and earthy". Fullerton was impressed by the show which gave viewers insight into Jamaican life, past and present. "As a black woman, these works by local Jamaicans show what we [Jamaicans] can achieve if we put our minds to it," she said.

Former American Ambassador to Jamaica Rob Warne with wife, Suzie, also collectors of Jamaican intuitive art, were among the guests present.

Anthea McGibbon, a graduate of the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts has over 10 years experience in the fields of visual arts and journalism. Write to islandartattack@yahoo.co.uk or anthea.mcgibbon@gleanerjm.com.