Friday, May 19, 2017

Fire

Out of the ashes rises the phoenix and it is not me. I have no solid tale of my history recent or ancient. But I do see possibility and potential perhaps in some current murmurings that may turn into flight if ideas and dreams that have lay burning in ever stoked embers grow wings.

Sunday, February 19, 2017

Too Young to Married - To the tune of Too Young To Soca

I SAY I LOSING MY MIND
MAYBE FOR A LITTLE WHILE
I ALMOST CRY IN UTTER BEMUSEMENT
I SAY WHAT I HEAR IS NOT
CAUSE IT HURT MEH DOWN TO MEH GUT
WHEN THEY START WITH THE DEFEDNING

THEY TALKIN BOUT LITTLE BOYS
12 YEAR OLD GIRL AND THING
THEY SAY THEY SHOULD CONCENTRATE
ON GETTING A WEDDING RING
LOOKING FOR WEDDING PLANNER
WEDDING DRESS AND FINE CHINA
THEY SAY THEY SHOULD BE IN HOUSE
SHACK UP WITH CHILDREN AND THING

THEY SAY THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
THEY WANT RED DOT ON THEIR FOREHEAD
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
THEY SAY LET THEM ALL BUY ROTI
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
DOH STUDY MATHS AND HISTORY
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
TELL DEM
LET BABIES GET MARRIED
MARRIED
LET BABIES GET MARRIED
MARRIED
FREE UP THEMSELVES AND FLAM
LET THE BABIES JAM JAM JAM
THEY MAY BE SMALL
BUT THEY AINT TOO YOUNG AT ALL




THEY SAY SHE IS A LADY
AND WE KNOW WHAT IS BEST FOR SHE
TO CALL SHE UNCLE HUZZY
SHE MAY BE A LITTLE GIRL
HER HAIR MAY STILL BE IN CURLS
BUT SHE KNOW HOW TO MAKE GROCERY

THEY SAY HOW HE MORE MATURE
THAN ALL LITTLE BOYS HIS AGE
AND HOW HE NEVER HIT SHE
NEVER EVEN GET IN A RAGE
THEY SAY HOW THE TWO THEM WAS FRIENDS
FROM THE DAY THE BORN
AND NOW IT IS TIME FOR US TO JOIN THEM AS ONE

THEY SAY THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
TO HONEYMOON IN ST VINCENT
OY YO YO THEY MAKING JOKE
THEY SAY WE THE PARENTS CONSENT
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
WE JUST GET THE DRESS ON THE INTERNET
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
TELL DEM
LET BABIES GET MARRIED
MARRIED
LET BABIES GET MARRIED
MARRIED
FREE UP THEMSELVES AND FLAM
LET THE BABIES JAM JAM JAM
THEY MAY BE SMALL
BUT THEY AINT TOO YOUNG AT ALL





THE IMAM SAY HE DOH CARE
TELL THE STATE NOT TO INTERFERE
WITH WE THE PEOPLE BUSINESS
WE COULD DO IT ANY WAY
PLUS IT AINT HAVE NO RED HOUSE AGAIN
SO WE PEOPLE GO JUST HANDLE IT

IF HE IS 14 YEARS OLD
AND HE WANT TO MARRY SHE
HE SAY THAT IS NO ISSUE FOR
THE OLIGARCHY
I MINE SHE FROM SINCE SHE SMALL
AND I SAY SHE NOT TOO YOUNG
IF WE WANT TO MARRY DEM OFF
IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS AT ALL

THEY SAY THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
THEY SAY OLD AGE DOH MEAN NOTHING
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
THEY SAY HOW MUCH AH DEM DIVORCE
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
WITH OUTSIDE WOMAN AND RACE HORSE
TELL DEM
THEY COME OUT TO KILL WE
KILL WE
TALKING BOUT MARRIED
BABIES
LET ME SEE YOU HAND HAND HAND
HOLD THEM AND JAM JAM JAM
THEY MAY BE SMALL
BUT THEY AINT TOO YOUNG AT ALL





THEY START APPROACHING ME
WITH QUESTIONS ON THE POLICY
AS IF I MARRIED OFF MEH PICKENY
AH TELL DEM DOH COME ASK ME
GO AND ASK THEM IN CARONI
WHY THEY HOLDING ON TO TRADITION

THE CONVERSATION DID REALLY MESS UP MEH HEAD
IT ALL ON MEH MIND ONE NIGHT WHEN I LIE DOWN IN BED
SO I DECIDE TO END THE CONTROVERSY
AND SAY CHILD MARRIAGE AFFECTS EVERYBODY

THEY SAY THEY WANT TO GET MARRIED
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
THEY WANT WEDDING CAKE AND CARRIAGE
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
THEY SAY THEY READY FOR BELLY
OY YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
MIXIN FORMULA AND CRUSH VEGGIES
OH YO YO THEY MAKIN JOKE
TELL DEM
THEY TRYING TO KILL WE
KILL WE
CHILDREN CYAH GET MARRIED
MARRIED
LET ME SEE YUH HAND HAND HAND
IF YUH UNDERSTAND STAND STAND
THE CHILDREN TOO SMALL
AND SHOUDLNT BE MARRIED AT ALL



Friday, February 17, 2017

The work of Rodell Warner










The latest work from Rodell Warner, The Most Corrupting Notion Ever Captured in a Dream, opened at Alice Yard last evening. It is in the main made up of painted objects he found and some he created using papier mache. They were painted in a similar pattern using black and white and were placed on display around the Woodbrook space where they will be on show until February 21, 2017. 

I had been hearing about the show for some months as he withdrew to create this, perhaps, his first major solo showing. I knew he was inspired by visual static and said he found it in gray as a static thing and too, so, between black and white. The images speak for the work in that they seem homogenous while being individual at the same time.

For me the show coming in the middle of Carnival, mirrors the underlying theme of the festival locally. While usually divided among politically determined racial lines at this time it goes black and white as we relive the Mardi Gras vs Canboulay dynamic.

There are two stories of Carnival, simply: the European derived masquerade that has devolved into the showgirl style costume at least in part, and the jamette carnival born out of the ritual of celebration at the end of the harvest season when the cane was burned. 

It is like how we hold on to the things we do that are perhaps negative. We feel this divide is crucial to the unique story that is Carnival and necessary for its survival. Its like to me, accepting your whole story even if it doesn't hold all candy coated pieces. I can't say apart from what I have been told and have read what the distilled truth is in that we also pride ourselves on being a carnival people and seem quite comfortable with that. 

I think of this as I take in Rodell's work with its provocative discipline that begs the question if we dream in the colours of carnival or in black and white.