Home»All Photographs»Culture»Emancipation Day 2012 Public Exhibit

These images were selected by the Ministry of the Arts and Multiculturalism for public display on the outer walls of their offices on Frederick Street, Port of Spain. My artist statement which accompanied the exhibit is as follows: "As a photographer, I am inspired by the richness of cultural expression in Trinidad and Tobago and seek to draw attention to traditions vital to our national heritage through my work. Imagery of canboulay evokes the first celebration of emancipation in 1838 through the portrayal of key symbols - the flambeau, the drum, the bois. I have placed emphasis on the bois because in reality, and symbolically, the stickfighter stands as the defiant defender of African cultural expression. Ella Andall, Chantwell Supreme, embodies the strong role of women as guardians of African spiritual beliefs and cultural traditions. While the Moko Jumbie, with its origins traceable to the Congo, is a link between the African ancestral past and our present."