Kesia Estwick, Barbados Medium: Acrylic on canvas Dimensions: 38 x 48 inches Year: 2025
Description:
This work centers on the Moko Jumbies, iconic stilt-walking figures whose towering presence has become an enduring symbol of Caribbean carnival culture. Rooted in West African traditions and preserved through generations of cultural memory, these figures embody the resilience, adaptation, and continuity of ancestral knowledge within the region.
Through the construction of a whimsical dreamscape, I seek to celebrate and honour their significance while exploring the interplay between history, imagination, and spectacle. Layers of vibrant colour and gestural brushwork create a sense of movement and vitality, inviting the viewer into a dynamic visual experience. Exaggerated forms and shifting spatial relationships contribute to a dreamlike atmosphere, blurring the boundaries between the real and the imagined. In doing so, the work reimagines the Moko Jumbie not only as a cultural icon, but also as a vessel for collective memory, joy, and transformation.
