 |
 |
 |
|
March 2019
|
In the spirit of Carnival 2019 celebrations, The University of the West Indies, St Augustine Campus recently welcomed with gratitude Donald ‘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 library hosted 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 significant events on February 6 (the official 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 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 UWI was not in a position to compete on global markets for art collections, and that its budgets remained outmatched by more prominent educational institutions. 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 inspired my work comes from Trinidad, 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 and many more. 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 handsof West 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? Sabrina Vailloo is a writer and editor, and certified events coordinator. She’s currently head of branding at a local tech start-up. |
