On a typically sweltering and muggy DC day I encountered the “In the Spirit” exhibition (featured at the Inter-American Development Bank), a refreshing opening to the ALLSPICE Festival. I innocently sauntered through the doors, much as a tourist would, anticipating an artistic chronicling of the visual and chromatic brilliance of the Caribbean. The beauty of the exhibit was confirmed the moment I walked through the doors. There is a staggering array of colors and methods throughout the exhibit, an awesome artistic collage. It was a true learning experience. While initially I was taken aback by the intensity of the art, I grew to appreciate the strong undercurrent of empowerment it displays.
I was first drawn to Joshua’s Crossing by Angelica Barrow. It was the only one I felt I understood after my first walkaround. The other pieces were initially perplexing to me, part of a narrative I didn’t understand: “beautiful but dark” I scrawled in my notebook early on. I loved Barrow’s painting’s mythological feeling, with a distant unnamed city looking on a great tidal wave (that looked almost to merge with the sky) in the foreground.
Many of the pieces dealt with the notion of Othering, a loss of self and spiritual displacement. GA Gardener’s work was especially intense. He collaged a startling array images and features that recounted a deep social despair. The carving at the spatial center of the exhibit contributes to an underlying sense of darkness. The figure (by Antonius Roberts), almost tribal looking, seems to be struggling against some brutal unseen force, the body trapped in the wood that birthed it. There are elements of these pieces that are dark, but is much more complex than that. They speak to the aesthetic elevation of a struggle, both personal and social. Not as much dark as they are exquisitely human.
The brilliance of the exhibition is the different paths that each person takes personally, and even spiritually for some, as they walk through the intimate artistic space. One is rewarded for giving it more time; there seem to be limitless realizations throughout the journey. It is stunning as a visual multimedia display, as it is fascinating for the honesty of many of the artists who generously expose their personal odysseys.
That was a key element of the exhibition that slowly developed in my understanding. What I had in some cases interpreted as darkness or beauty was part of a more important narrative of candor and intensity. Nikolai Noel’s small colorful ink drawings opened this world for me. They are bare and organic, strong icons of personal experience.
The exhibit provides a gorgeous elevation of the artists’ personal experiences of Caribbeanness. This, perhaps, is a piece of what the “Spirit” is. The artwork is a bold assertion of the Caribbean identity. The intimacy of the exhibit refuses the impulse of a tourist; it compels the visitor to move beyond being a passive observer. There is a sense of a mythology being created, a unique story that is gracefully interwoven into a greater narrative. “In the Spirit” is an important contribution of Caribbeanness, showing both the talent of Caribbean artists and their formation of a distinct voice. When I left it was still hot and muggy, but I had an added bounce to my step…
I encourage all to visit the exhibition from June 6th-June 11th at the Inter-American Development Bank, 1300 New York Ave, NW (open 12-6 daily). Keep an eye out as we’ll be posting some images from the gallery and linking to the artists’ work.
