Jamaican artist

Gloria Escoffery’s talents as an intellect and a painter were apparent from early. As a Jamaica Scholar, after gaining a Bachelor of Arts degree at McGill University in Canada, Escoffery went on to pursue her Masters at the Slade School of Art in London. Like many of her peers such as Ralph Campbell, Barrington Watson and Albert Huie, she absorbed the lessons offered in European art forms, but after returning to Jamaica in the 1950’s she quickly adapted these principles to suit her Caribbean environment and Jamaican vision. She returned from London with a definitive style, no longer content to render her subject matter in representational form. The fusion of influences produced works of a modern, semi-abstract nature replete with local content and Jamaican social realities.

Escoffery's canvases, usually panoramic in scale, depict figures in various poses strung out across the picture plain. These are people/models normally from her hometown; rural workers engaged in some form of labour suggestive of nation building. Her interest in local genre scenes from Brownstown, St Ann where she lived and worked most of her life, was reflective of the mood of the newly independent Jamaica, its people and culture. Even so, Escoffery’s paintings are never propogandised or sentimental, rather, her flat use of colour and linear design give them a precision and sense of deliberation, typical of her enquiring and analytical mind.

Gloria Escoffery was as much a literary figure as an artistic one in Jamaica. For many years, she wrote art reviews for the national newspapers as well as the Jamaica Journal. These articles demonstrated her love of the arts and the breadth of her art historical knowledge. Her favourite painter was Poussin and it is easy to see how, that French classicist’s imagery affected her own compositions. Art Historian, Dr David Boxer remembering Escoffery writes:“Her continued study of his [Poussin’s] works imparted a structural clarity and sound colour sense to her own canvases. Best known for her ‘straight’ paintings of the fifties and sixties and early sixties, it is rather those paintings of the later sixties and seventies, works like The Three Graces and The Centaur that her true imaginative power shines, and reveal her as a true original. In these works she actually ‘quotes’ from  masterpieces of the past and in effect uses them to comment on, or draw parallels with the Jamaican ‘scene’ which she is depicting.” This process of collage/montage became even more sophisticated in her later paintings as Escoffery selected images and scenes from her favourite artists incorporating them into larger works using patterning and other compositional devices. Her works became increasingly ambitions in scale culminating in the five-panelled work Mirage that currently hangs in the library of the University of the West Indies.

During her lifetime, Escoffery’s work was exhibited widely in one person and group exhibitions in Jamaica, England, the US, Europe, Trinidad, Cuba and Puerto Rico.Escoffery died in 2002, her life and work will be the subject of a forthcoming retrospective to be mounted at the National Gallery of Jamaica.PA-S

John Dunkley is considered one of modern Jamaica’s first and finest intuitive artists painters. Like so many self-taught painters that would follow in his wake, Dunkley emerged from that class of self-employed, skilled artisans who lived by their hands. John Dunkley was a barber,

Dunkley’s early life appears to have been filled with misfortune and adventure that may account for his unique vision. Born in Savannah-la-Mar, at the age of seven he suffered an accident that damaged one of his eyes and affected his schooling, as a result, as a teenager he was sent to his father living in Panama. There again, tragedy struck, he arrived to find that his father had recently died, dashing his hopes for the future. Alone, and at the outbreak of the Great War, he became a sailor and is reported to have travelled through South and Central America, North America finally returning to Cheriqui, Panama where he took up painting and came under the influence of the painter Clarence Rock.

He would not return to Jamaica until 1926, when in his thirties, he married Cassie Dunkley and settled to run a small barbershop on Princess Street in Kingston. It was here that Dunkley also established a small studio for painting, where young Jamaicans congregated to discuss politics and world affairs, as well as view his latest works. Although Dunkley did not exhibit regularly, the small group of artists who painted at the Institute of Jamaica knew him, but he never became a formal member of that group, Somehow, Dunkley felt that his concerns were different.

Today, there is nothing that compares to John Dunkley’s imagination. His melancholy paintings speak of another dimension where man is subject to nature filled with spiders, crabs, frogs, birds, rodents haunt ravines, rocks and lopped trees. The landscapes of his mind, obviously unreal, are nevertheless hauntingly familiar. They are desolate dream worlds, where timid animals observe the lonely paths and gloomy roads. Dunkley’s motifs are constantly recurring reinforcing their hypnotic quality. His imagery points to a subconscious or disguised symbolism that might justify a surrealist label, yet Dunkley’s style defies categorization. As Dr David Boxer, National Gallery of Jamaica curator has written:

“ This was a truly intuitive painter if ever there was one. Little in the history of Western art prepares us for Dunkley. While at times his work puts us in mind of Samual Palmer or Albert Pinkham Ryder, there is a hypnotic rhythmic intensity in Dunkley’s paintings that is alien to English and American masters. Indeed, it is an African severity of rhythm, form, and colour that in the final analysis separates Dunkley from the Western romantics that his work at times recalls.”


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Ras Dizzy is v\ocal against the injustices he meets within Jamaican society. A temperamental artist, he will 'curse you' as readily as he will tutor you in his reading from the Bible. His uneven temperament is reflected in his painting but, in his lucid moments, he paints powerfully and lyrically, with deep insight into the history of Jamaica and its people. Also a poet and a writer, his titles are often enigmatic and he is not averse to writing within his paintings. Favourite themes are cowboys, that hark back to the era of the 'western movie', popular in Jamaica duing the 1960s and still a prevalent theme within dance hall culture, and which recall his own expereinces/fantasies(?) of being a jockey at Caymanas race track and other race courses throughout the Caribbean, doctor birds (Jamaica's national bird) and local flora (probably a response to tourist demands), spiritual messages, wherin he sees himself as a saviour of the Jamaican people, and images of slavery and Jamaican history.

Extract from New World Imagery (exhib.cat) 1995

Leonard Daley’s mural like outpourings have all the power of Dubuffet’s Art Brut, or the Surrealist imagery of Andre Masson, yet with none of the self-conscious denial employed by these modern artists. In 1987 when Daley’s work was included in the Fifteen Intuitives exhibition, David Boxer could still write with honesty that Leonard Daley had no concept of his work as being art, in the sense of a commodity. He painted on fragments of used tarpaulin and plywood, often utilizing both sides of these surfaces and had no desire to title his work. Today, a realism tinged with sadness is sensed in the fact that Daley now conforms to more formal methods of presentation, using more durable and readily exhibited materials, suggesting that even with the sensitive ‘protection’ of the National Gallery of Jamaica, this intuitive is far more aware than he used to be. Nevertheless, his imagery is still visually powerful.

To view Daley's work is to enter a claustrophobic hysterical world of spirits, specters, and ‘bad-minded’ people. One of Daley’s devices is to slice the head in profile thus revealing the inner workings of the mind and the many thoughts, good and evil, that take place there. Often the results are terrifying, since Daley’s assessment of the world is a very judgmental one. For him the process of depiction is purgative, and the imagery he displays, is often violent, bloody and cruel. Yet, the hellish nature of his painting is not indicative of the artists personality, rather, Daley’s work operates within a type of evangelical ethic, closely aligned to the Pentecostal churches so prevalent in Jamaica. These churches preach a gospel that acts as a kind of bridge between African spiritual beliefs and Christian orthodoxy that suggest redemption through images that are at once sacrificial and violent. The blood of the lamb that washes whiter than snow, though gruesome, represents purity and salvation, in much the same way, Daley’s works exorcise demons in order to cleanse and liberate the mind. He says…

‘All my work, its just automatically.[sic] I close my eyes and I pray a lot. Sometimes tears fall down…sometimes I sit down and look at the plain wall, and I can’t penetrate it. And so I will use some water in my mouth, and spew it on the wall, and whatever way it dries it comes out as a picture…I read it and the next thing I look at the sunset and I look at the moon and sometimes when I am concerned about certain situation I meditate. I don’t eat much food’.

Yet, like the surrealist Joan Miro’s work of the 1920s, Daley’s work is more hallucinatory than visionary, a self-inflicted libation that produces horrific imagery of nightmarish quality. In this world there is little light, a muddy and bloody palette pervades, while animals and men mutate into monsters that haunt every available space. Although we know this is a mental rather than a physical space, its latent pantheism suggests a fascinating interpretation of the world not altogether incredible. Certainly, the introduction of Daley’s work within mainstream Jamaican art circles was greeted with an immediate comprehension, since it seemed to join forces with the tormented configurations of ‘new imagists’ such as Milton George and Omari Ra. Yet, Daley’s unique vision is his own protection from being subsumed by any artistic movement. The unique nature of his visions are such that they suggest biblical and psychological rather than historical interpretations and it is perhaps these considerations that will ensure that he continues to paint from intuition rather than intellect.

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Essay extracted and edited from the Home and Away exhibition catalogue, London, 1998

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Although few details are known about Henry Daley’s life, his paintings many of which are self-portraits, provide insight into his short, poignant career as an artist. Even so, Daley’s paintings are highly personalized depictions and for this reason, they should not be over romanticized.

Born in 1919 in Hope Bay, Daley was one of the first Jamaican students to benefit from the informal Saturday morning classes offered by artists such as Edna Manley and Koren der Harootian at the Institute of Jamaica. These classes had a workshop type atmosphere that allowed locals to paint alongside more accomplished artists, in the main expatriates. The aim was to nurture local art inspired by Jamaican culture rather Europe’s art forms. Daley attended these workshops while still a young man. As an artisan by trade, doing small jobs that ranged from painting to plumbing, these classes offered him instruction and an opportunity for self-expression.

Classes were held at the Junior Centre close to the Institute’s library that housed a small cache of modern art books. It was from these books that Daley gained exposure to art movements such as impressionism and post-impressionism, and developed an interest in Vincent Van Gogh whose artwork would have a marked influence on the style and content of his own work.

Daley came from humble circumstances, he was loner and something of a depressive and maybe it is for this reason that he seems to have identified with Vincent Van Gogh’s life and work, so much so that much of his oeuvre appears to mirror that of the Dutch painter. In the same way that Van Gogh took to painting landscapes and sunflowers typical of the southern France, Daley focused almost exclusively on Jamaican vistas, flora and fauna and in particular its trees. To each of these scenes he brought freedom of expression and a style that seemed to speak of the challenges of his own life. His trees are strong, rooted forms, gnarled and muscular, alive but agonisingly twisted. His landscapes have the same poetic and haunting quality.

Daley’s portraits tell us even more, particularly about his commitment to art and how that this would impact on his life as he struggled to live from his work. Like Van Gogh, he painted himself often in various scenarios, as the artist, the thinker, the petitioner each work giving us a little more insight into his personality. His paintings show us that he was a handsome man who became progressively gaunt as his circumstances deteriorated. His face becomes weathered and beaten, while his eyes, like that of a supplicant are regularly upturned, appealing to a higher source. At a time when, Jamaicans were only slowly coming to terms with their sense of self and black identities, Daley’s images are profoundly frank and moving.

Writing about Daley, the Jamaican poet/historian Philip Sherlock wrote:

Hungry Belly restless talked
When he saw Daley buy
Paint and canvas for a picture
For a picture when a plumber had to live
But the painter was a seeking
For something that he couldn’t tell about
That he knew inside himself he must search
And search and find
Past the questions and divisions
Past the doubtings and the troubles
Past the doors and rows of doors

In the same way that Van Gogh has been mythologised because of his peculiar vision and his early death, Daley too has been immortalized in Jamaican art circles because of his impoverished life and tragic death. It is said that in his melancholy state he ingested
his own paints and it was their lead that poisoned him. It seems more likely however, that he died from tuberculosis after prolonged illness and exposure to fumes. Whatever his fate, although, less accomplished and with limited art materials Daley can be considered a Jamaican Van Gogh and its first expressionist.

Karl Jerry Craig received his earliest training as an artist in the UK attending the St Martin’s School of Art. He stayed there after graduating exhibiting regularly while working as a Senior Lecturer for the Inner London Education Authority (ILEA) in London. In 1972, he was invited to head the Jamaica School of Art and would go on to become the first Deputy Dean when that institution was fused with the Schools of Dance, Drama and Music becoming the Cultural Training Centre (CTC).

As both artist and educator Karl Craig made significant contributions to the development of the arts during the 1970s. As head of the art school he spearheaded the art school’s move from its old North Street location to its new campus at Arthur Wint Drive, and introduced a teacher-training course specifically designed for art school graduates. In addition, during the 1980’s he exhibited regularly locally, and in Jamaican exhibitions abroad.

Craig’s work is distinctly contemporary, unlike his peers such as Valerie Bloomfield or Alexander Cooper, he quickly relinquished realism in favour of abstraction and design. His British training and work in the field of graphic design and advertising brought a fresh contemporary feel to his surfaces and even though he embraced Jamaican themes, his surfaces reflected none of Jamaica’s social angst, rather they shimmered with a more positive light. At times, Craig’s work can appear almost decorative, especially since he is fond of using heightened colours, iridescent tones and attractive textured patterning. Nevertheless his imagery is rooted in the Jamaican experience, it reflects his delight with the environment: his romancing of the sun, sand and sea. As a result, his work is highly attractive and collectible and can be found in many important national collections, and he has also created numerous commissions and public murals.

In the 1990s Craig moved to the University of the West Indies to supervise the teaching of art and crafts to its Department of Education students, thus creating an important line of progression for teachers of art from teacher training colleges, art school and the university. Craig’s contribution to Jamaican art has been invaluable and although he currently lives and works in Florida he continues to paint, depicting his passion for the Caribbean.PA-S

Keisha Castello is a Jamaican artist living and working in Kingston. She studied painting the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts and graduated in 2004. Since then her work has been shown at the National Gallery of Jamaica and in other significant group exhibitions. She held her first solo show at the Mutual life Gallery in 2008.

Keisha Castello's work echoes Naipaul's vain hope for order in an environment destined for chaos and deterioration. She is preoccupied with organic forms that offer a perverse and morbid aesthetic even as they wither and disintegrate. Found objects, such as bones, shells, leaves, and insects are assembled into compositions that speak to her futile fight for life. Once gathered these items are placed within boxes that conserve, contain and reframe our understanding of life in the Caribbean and its fragility.

Curator Eddie Chamber's who included Castello in his Curator's Eye 11 exhibition History and Identity said that he did so because her work spoke to him of Jamaica's motto 'Out of Many One People' or what Castello calls Hybridity in Visual Form. But what remains to be seen is whether Castello's work if it mirrors the nation, is more about the living than the dead. A recent show at the Mutual Life Gallery (2008) suggests her resilience as a young painter and a survivor.

Albert Chong is an contemporary artist working in the mediums of photography, installation, sculpture and artist books. His works have dealt directly with personal mysticism, spirituality, race, identity and numerous other topics as well as celebrating the beauty of images and objects. His main bodies of photographic work have been in the genres of still lifes in black and white and color.

These works range from playful juxtapositions and formal still lifes to works that represent and reanimate his family history. Here we learn about Aunt Winnie, Justice, Miss Peggy, we gain an insight into one family’s story from Jamaica’s past. Chong’s other works in the photographic medium include his Throne for the Ancestors Series and his portraits of artists friends and of Jamaicans in Various parts of Jamaica. He has also produced a new body of work titled The Projections. Albert Chong is also creates installation works many of which have been funded by various museums. One work in particular titled Winged Evocations was funded by Allen Memorial Art Museum in Oberlin, Ohio. This work created in 1998 has traveled widely since it opened to the public including representing Jamaica at the seventh Havana Biennial in Cuba and is presently in an exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art titled Defying Gravity. A more recent kinetic installation titled Throne for The Third Millennium 2003 was recently created for the exhibition Un/Familiar Territory at the San Jose Museum of Art in San Jose, California.

Albert Chong was born in Kingston, Jamaica, W. I. in 1958 and immigrated to the USA in 1977 at the age of 19 years. He lived in Brooklyn and attended the School of Visual Arts in New York City where he received a BFA with Honors in 1981. Chong became active in the New York art scene until 1988 when he left to go to Graduate School at the University of California in San Diego. He received his MFA from UCSD in 1991 and in the same year accepted a faculty appointment at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Chong is presently associate professor or art at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Chong has also taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City from 1982 – 88. Mira Costa College in Oceanside California from 1989-91 and Rhode Island School of Design in Providence from 1996 –97. Chong has received various prestigious awards for his work in the visual arts. These include a 1992 Individual artist Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. In 1998 he was awarded the prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship in the field of photography and in the same year the Pollock Krasner Grant. Chong has also been commissioned by Absolut Vodka to add his work to the ongoing series in the work titled Absolut Chong. Chong’s art in whatever form has been a constant presence in Museums and Galleries internationally for the last two decades. His work has been intergral to the discourse around race, identity and spirituality in art.

Chong’s work is in collections public, private and corporate and has been featured in publications, books and periodicals too numerous to mention. He has represented his country Jamaica in four international biennials, including the 2001 Venice Benniale, the 1998 Sao Paulo Biennale and the seventh Havana Biennal in Cuba in 2000.

Camille Chedda's talent is precocious. As a fairly recent graduate of the Edna Manley College (Dip.Hons, 2007) she has already established an enviable exhibition record, having her works appear in in two Jamaica National Biennials (2006, 2008) as well as the Curator's Eye exhibition Materializing Slavery, where her slave ship imagery shared space with established artists such as Omari Ra and David Boxer. Her success speaks to the sophistication of her vision as well as her ability to execute her ideas in ways that are well defined and very contemporary.

The body as an icon and vehicle of personal and social statement is a central feature of Chedda's work. Sometimes we witness her own body wrapped in black plastic protesting its encasement and the restrictions placed on personal freedom. At other times, the body is anonymous, like those morbid forms stacked supine alongside each other, as they are squeezed into the hold of a middle passage container. More recently, her ideas have laid claim to Laura Facey's monument Redemption Song (2007), as she re-interprets societal angst over their nudity and impotency. In all these scenarios Chedda uses the body as a site of contention, although regularly gagged, they speak volumes about her concern for societal issues and human rights.