Trinidadian Arts and Spiritualities

A 2019 summer research residency at Alice Yard shifted my academic pursuits toward the wonderfully brilliant and multifarious arts of Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean nation akin to Barranquilla, my hometown, yet distinct in its histories and cultural formations.

Through dedicated archival research at the University of the West Indies, in-depth explorations of Trinidadian history with key cultural workers, and collection viewings at the Central Bank and other art spaces, I began formulating a research project on the relationship between visual art, performativity, and the intersection of spiritual traditions in Port of Spain and London during the 1970s and 1980s.

A k u z u r u, one of the pioneers of Caribbean performance art, became the central figure of my research. The second chapter of my doctoral dissertation, "A k u z u r u: Fashioning Afro-Asian Interspirituality," offers the first narrative of her often-overlooked early practice, leading to numerous academic presentations. A retrospective exhibition of her career, "A k u z u r u: Fashion / Spirit / Ak-tion," is currently seeking a suitable home.

My research further traces the histories of the Golden Age of Mas' and beyond in Port of Spain and London during the 1970s and 1980s. This undertaking combines binational archival materials, highlighting figures such as Elise and Carlisle Chang, Stephen Lee Heung, Wayne Berkeley, Greta Mendez, and Keith Khan as influences on A k u z u r u's practice. The prominent and controversial painter and Orisa Chief LeRoy Clarke also plays an essential role in my research as the artist's mentor during her formative years.

In addition to digitizing A k u z u r u's early archival materials, my research led to the acquisition of Christopher Cozier's Tropical Night series (2006–14) by the Museum of Modern Art's Department of Drawings and Prints. This became the first work by a contemporary Trinidadian artist to enter the museum's collection and was exhibited alongside African American artist Jacob Lawrence's groundbreaking Migration series (1940–41).