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Final Days to Experience LOOKING ACROSS A Visual Tribute to Earl Lovelace at The UWI AJL

For Release Upon Receipt - July 29, 2025

St. Augustine


ST. AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. July 29, 2025 – Time is running out to experience Looking Across: A Visual Tribute to Earl Lovelace, a moving exhibition celebrating the 90th birthday of the legendary Caribbean novelist, playwright and poet. Hosted by The University of the West Indies (The UWI), Faculty of Humanities and Education, St. Augustine Campus, the exhibition is on display at the Alma Jordan Library and closes on Wednesday 30th July and is free and open to all.

 

 Author, playwright and poet Earl Lovelace alongside artist Shania Warris, with her painting “Play A Mas” at the Alma Jordan Library, The UWI, St. Augustine. (photo taken by Ms. Anya Aching)

 Curated by Dr. Marsha Pearce, the exhibition draws its title from a 2024 interview with Lovelace in which he reflected on his deep connection to community and storytelling, and his relationship with the people about whom he wrote: “In my case, I don’t believe I looked down—I looked across.” This unique exhibition features four new large-scale paintings by alumni of The UWI Department of Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), each interpreting one of Lovelace’s first four novels through visual art. Invited by Dr. Pearce, the artists, Sarah Knights, Timothy Somai, Salisha Stanley, and Shania Warris, engage in a powerful creative exercise, translating Lovelace’s literary mastery into vivid imagery using paint, pastels and mixed media. In highlighting the visual significance of the exhibition, Dr. Pearce explained,

 “This exhibition emphasizes the dynamic relationship between a text and its reader. The artists are readers, translators of word into image. What we see here is a journey across art forms, a dialogue between literature and visual arts.”

 Highlights of the exhibition include:

 ·         Timothy Somai’s “A Fallen Pommerac Tree”, a visual diptych inspired by While Gods Are Falling (1965), which reflects on place, memory and the evolution of self.

 ·         Salisha Stanley’s striking canvas “The Schoolmaster”, based on The Schoolmaster (1968), which uses symbolism and personal memory to echo themes of authority and resistance.

 ·         Shania Warris’s dynamic “Play a Mas”, a carnival-infused tribute to The Dragon Can’t Dance (1979), channeling masquerade, character, and metaphor into a tableau-style composition.

 ·         Sarah Knights’s emotive self-portrait “The War Still Fighting”, drawn from The Wine of Astonishment (1982), explores internal struggle, faith and resilience.

 Also on display is a compelling showcase of book cover artwork from various editions of Lovelace’s novels, tracing his publishing history over decades. These covers, featuring the works of artists such as Che Lovelace, Abigail Hadeed, Jeb Loy Nichols, and Anne Howeson are on loan from the West Indiana and Special Collections Division of the Alma Jordan Library.

 Through the lens of Looking Across: A Visual Tribute to Earl Lovelace, the exhibition invites audiences to reconsider the relationship between literature and visual art, asserting that no artform stands above another. As Lovelace’s work celebrates Caribbean life and identity, so too do these paintings — not simply as illustrations, but as new narratives in their own right.

 The exhibition offers a rare opportunity to explore Lovelace’s literary legacy in a vibrant, multisensory format. Visitors will also receive a free commemorative poster as a keepsake.

 Celebrate Caribbean literature. Celebrate Earl Lovelace. Look across.

 END

 About The University of the West Indies

 The University of the West Indies (The UWI) is the Caribbean’s premier higher education institution and one of only two regional universities in the world. With five campuses across the English-speaking Caribbean and global centres in partnership with universities in North America, Latin America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, The UWI continues to be a beacon of academic excellence, research innovation, and societal impact. Consistently ranked among the world’s best by Times Higher Education (THE), The UWI is a global leader in addressing critical challenges, including climate change, sustainability, and development.

 As The UWI St. Augustine Campus celebrates its 65th anniversary in 2025 under the theme Beyond 65: From the Caribbean, For the World, it pays tribute to its Caribbean roots while highlighting its contributions to solving global challenges. This milestone underscores the campus's significant role in producing ground-breaking research and fostering talent that transcends regional boundaries to shape a better world. The UWI St. Augustine’s researchers, academics, and graduates continue to make an international impact, exemplifying the university’s mission to serve the region while influencing the world.

 Learn more at www.uwi.edu 

 

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