SUNDAY 3 MARCH 2019 – UWI TODAY
15
ART, CULTURE, CARNIVAL
In the spirit of Carnival 2019 celebrations,
The University
of theWest Indies, St Augustine Campus recently welcomed
with gratitudeDonald ‘Jackie’ Hinkson’s oil on canvas mural
“Masquerade”,along with many of his sketchbooks.The
historic occasion was marked with three notable events over
the week of February 4-8, 2019.
Through Hinkson’s art, the Alma Jordan Library
(AJL), which hosted the events in conjunction withthe
Department of Creative and Festival Arts’ (DCFA) Visual
Arts Unit,continues to fulfil itsrole as a preserver and
supporter of T&T’s arts and culture.
On February 4, the libraryhosted its landmark
installation of “Masquerade” on the southern wall of the
building.Senior West Indiana Librarian Lorraine Nero was
there when the idea for the mural installation hit. In 2017,
she and Hinkson were walking away from the building
when its façade caught his eye. It struck him that the space
along the walkway was the ideal locale to accommodate his
110-foot-wide mural, to be installed in a linear series of 22
eight-foot-high rectangular panels.
The inaugural mural event gave way to twoother
signif icant events on Februar y 6 (the of f ici a l
sketchpadshandover)and February 8 (“Masquerade: A
Conversation with Jackie Hinkson”).On February 6,
Hinkson handed over 60 sketchpads (that took years to
fill) to their new permanent home – the West Indiana and
Special Collections Division of the library.
The donated artwork accounts for some 3,000 sketches
done in a variety of mediums including pencil, pen and
ink, ink and brush, charcoal, charcoal pencil, crayon,
coloured pencils, ballpoint pen, and, occasionally, conté.
Hinkson estimates that this represents only 50 percent of
his entire sketch collection, which amounts to a prolific
A CREATIVE PLACEKEEPER
finds a place on campus
B Y S A B R I N A V A I L L O O
12,000 sketches, and whose monetary value has not yet
been mentioned on record.
Nero affirmed that Hinkson’s donation was “very
significant” because The UWIwas not in a position to
compete on global markets for art collections, and that
its budgets remained outmatched bymore prominent
educationalinstitutions.She noted that overseas universities
with Caribbean Studies programmes were especially on
the lookoutfor original collections out of the Caribbean.
“It’s people like Mr Hinkson who really believe in the
Caribbean and the potential of this region who donate
without asking much.”
Hinkson explained why he rejected the profitable
lureofsellinghis art abroad: “…in a way, everything that
has motivated and inspiredmy work comes fromTrinidad,
so, I want to keep…the work here.…my bond with this
country, my exposure to this landscape, the seascape, its
urbanscapes, and how those subjects…have inspired me
is so strong that I want to maintain that respect for that
kind of inspiration.”
At the February 6 handover event, Dr Marsha
Pearce, Visual Arts Unit Coordinator and Lecturer at
the DCFAdescribed Hinkson as “a creative placekeeper”
throughhis art. She explained that “Placekeeping involves
preserving the memories of a community through art. It
is sensitive to the history of a place…It involves paying
attention to place; taking notice of, watching carefully. The
idea of keeping a place also suggests nurturing, stimulating,
fostering that place…All…embedded in Hinkson’s art”.
On a separate occasion, Lorraine Nero discussed
herremit in acquiring Hinkson’s oeuvres saying thatWest
Indiana “see(s) education and educational tools in all
various formats and aspects…which we can use hundreds
of years from now, because we think in centuries, actually.”
Dr Pearce ended her remarks on a note to echo
Nero: “Our task at The University of the West Indies is
to safeguard the spirit of the creative placekeeper and
to facilitate its transmission – allowing it to possess
generations to come.”
Like a new girlfriend, the artwork enjoys the curiosity
and attentiveness of a steady trail of student and visitor
passers-by. Some are challenged on how to capture the
mural’s entirety in photograph. (It’s two-thirds as long as
l’Arc de Triomphe or about one-and-two-thirds times as long
as a cricket pitch.) Others tune in thoughtfully to their peers’
interpretations about it, and still some retrace the concrete
steps to discover something more each time they pass.
There are so many characters to ponder in the mural:
Hinkson’s baby doll, bats, Dame Lorraine, robbers,
Bookman, masqueraders, burrokeet; Queen Isabella, the
Amerindian, Mickey Mouse, Spider-Man. These are all set
against a Trinidadian architectural backdropofprominent
landmarks and buildings: KFC, the Catholic cathedral, the
Guardian building, Express House andmanymore. Readers
would be surprised to know that standing in The UWI’s
quadrangle Hinkson had his first complete view of the work.
While Hinkson’s generously donated sketchbooks fulfil
their role of “placekeeping” in the safe handsofWest Indiana,
it’s unknown how long the mural will remain in place,as the
medium used isnot conducive to outdoor exhibition and is
subject to degradation by the elements. It stands to reason
that The UWI community is wary that it must one day
relinquish its custodianship over “Masquerade”. The library
will have a blank canvas to fill once more. When it meets
that crossroads, where will the characters of “Masquerade”
parade to next? And which place will it keep?
PHOTO: ANEEL KARIM
Sabrina Vailloo is a writer and editor, and certified event coordinator. She is currently the head of branding at a local start-up.
