Robin Clare Q&A: Jamaica Project

Sydney based contemporary artist Robin Clare has an extremely varied repertoire of work, ranging from political portraits to patterns, and is now working on a series of pieces focusing on Jamaica & dancehall culture. In her own words:

The series explores the way modern Jamaica talks about and identifies itself and its relationship to traditional Jamaican artisan skills. Specifically focusing on advertising methods, the paintings translate modern messages into the traditional form of hand painted signage which still remains popular in many areas of Jamaica. I have take my inspiration from messages surrounding Jamaica’s party scene, which is an integral and important part of Jamaican culture, offering escapism and entertainment to a population who experiences hardship on a daily basis. Through its music coupled with use of humour and boundary testing sexual content Jamaica is in the process of redefining its culture and its place in the modern global landscape.

As part of a long history, businesses in Jamaica still hire local artists to craft and hand paint signs and intricate advertisements on walls and bus shelters in towns and cities. Yet due to the cheap cost of production, modern, digitally-produced advertisements are fast becoming a dominant form of written and visual communication in Jamaica, enabling a transformation in the way Jamaican culture is shaping its messages and portraying itself to the world. By combining the party names and imagery with the cherished traditional craftsmanship of Jamaican sign painting I am attempting to create a dialogue between the past and present. Translating the new messages back into the language of the old highlights this commonality between the endeavour and skill that went into past production and that which goes into the present.

Clare’s paintings are an interesting collaboration between the art of the sign and the art of the party poster, looking through a critical yet understanding eye at the nature of dancehall imagery. They blend familiar brands, adverts, films and dishes (from Tastee to Fish Tea), with racy taglines and bright colours. There are currently 16 pieces in the series, all made with acrylic on paper or canvas. We had to throw some questions Robin’s way to get the lowdown on the project:

What drove you towards making this project happen?

The project grew out of a need for me to rekindle my love of Jamaica after losing a number of friends to violence on the island over the course of a year. I decided to take a fresh look at the things that I admire about it, fusing my ideas with the political and social relationships that have molded and created the culture.

What is your relationship with Jamaica?

My family is from Jamaica from way back when and I was the first to be born outside of it in Belize in the 70’s. We moved back to JA when I was four. In my adult life I’ve gone back to live periodically as I can’t really stay away for too long. But making a living as a visual artist has always pulled me away.

Your work seems to pick up on the commodification of the body in some of Jamaican party culture – on flyers and so on – in what ways do you see signmaking and dancehall culture intersecting? Why did you choose to put these two elements together – in what way do you see them working with or against each other?

When Jamaicans approach things it’s done with a real artisanal creativity; that’s always inspired me. When I was growing up in Jamaica I was so inspired by all the hand-painted signs and advertisements. A lot of hand-painted signage still exists, although it’s not as wide spread now. There are hand painted signs for everything from insurance companies to go-go clubs. There’s this excellent one that’s on the bottom of the road from where my family live that has a selection of voluptuous bikini clad ladies dancing away against blotches of colour in between the lettering that makes up the venue name, it’s an advertisement for the business inside – a car wash/titty bar.

Your interpretation of dancehall culture and its imagery seems in many ways critical – but you clearly also have a big interest in it – are you a dancehall fan yourself?

I’m a big dancehall fan. I grew up in Montego Bay with SunSplash (now Sumfest) which is a week long reggae and dancehall festival. Music is everywhere in JA, everyone sings and the radio is blaring wherever you go. There are street parties and mobile sound systems, it’s hard not to love it, the bass and rhythm gets right down into your bones. But the music culture is also very macho and many of the female dancehall artists have admitted that their careers only flourished after they shifted their focus to more sexual lyrics and provocative dress. I find it intriguing that in a matriarchal society the dominant art form, music, is all about their sexualisation.

Why does Ivanhoe Martin feature in the series – I suppose he had an interesting relationship with pop culture and advertising…?

It was one of the first images of the series that I did. Ivan Ragin Martin was a Jamaican folk hero, he was a Robin Hood type figure who went down in a blaze of glory on the shores of Lime Cay and, in the 70’s, Jimmy Cliff’s amazing portrayal of him in The Harder They Come turned him into a pop icon. Many of those first paintings at the beginning of the series were more focused on the idea of the outlaw and gun culture. But I wanted to focus more on the complexity of what drives the culture in a positive direction and that quickly led to dancehall. The music offers a different route and possible way out for the lucky few, it’s also a means of escape for all levels of society in Jamaica. However there is a strong connection within the party scene and lyrics to gangster culture, which is stitched into the fabric of Jamaica and its politics since the late 60’s.

What’s your plan for the project, will they be exhibited anywhere/are they on sale?

I’ve still got a few more paintings to add to the series. Then I want to eventually create a mini multimedia experience with some party footage and projections of still photos in a party venue along with the paintings. Yup, the paintings are for sale, any interested parties get in touch!

Go see the full set at Robin Clare’s site.