Calm Before the Storm

A young ‘red’ man lying on a couch in an apartment with a canvas painting and hip-hop
poster in the background.

First and foremost, I will state that this painting had begun during the passing of Hurricane Beryl through/around Barbados, hence in the painting,the character’s phone alert reads out ‘Hurricane BERYL!!!”. The overall image is a direct reference from my own film photograph of my dear friend Alexander from summer 2023, within my first apartment. The intention with this artwork was to display the relaxed attitude that Bajans often have towards storms, hurricanes, wildlife, and this is due in part to the nation’s history of great luck where hurricanes are concerned, we tend to endure the very least of what other Caribbean nations face, therefore, we endure the least impact from true fury of a hurricane. On the topic of animals, typically a select few are seen as companions, by a means of farming, or in the case of green monkeys and sea turtles, a literal tourism product. I find in my own experience that wildlife, particularly marine life do not receive nearly as much respect as they should due to the fact that they are treated as something to be entertained by, due to mass tourism, and so for this painting I purposefully wanted to display the skeleton of a sea turtle rather than the typical romanticized version of it many are accustomed to expect from Caribbean artwork, because I want it to serve as a mortal reminder that sea turtles, as popular as they are, are still in fact wild animals that live & die and deserve the respect of those that witness or experience them; whether tourist or local.

In this painting also exists the continuation of a motif I’d started a year ago, of painting people red, and this is a reference to the colloquial term ‘red’, in Barbados, which refers to someone that is mixed-race, which also happens to be my own experience, along with several friends of mine. Speaking of references, there also exists a reference to an American hip-hop artist (MF DOOM) which is portrayed as a poster within the background of the painting. The significance being that as much as I speak on the Caribbean, I believe it is only fair to subtly hint at the cultural influence of ‘the west’ which often is through music, television, movies, and so on, which I admit has left its mark on me, therefore, it feels natural that such influence and inspiration can manifest within my artwork. This painting, like many others, is an extension of my Caribbean soul as I’d made it a point to illustrate several topics of discussion from my experience as a Barbadian (Bajan), whether it be my relationship to natural disasters, marine life, racial
identity, and the undoubtable influence of western media.