Big Red aka is a significant on-going project, which sees me assuming the medium of drag to present myself as inhabiting both male and female identities. These performances are documented and digitally collaged to produce versions of an existing visual trope of dancehall “fete” posters.[1] “Fete” posters provide an opportunity for individuals to present a portrait of themselves for the public to interpret, dismember and enjoy. I consider these self-portraits a form of documentary realism, representing the ideals and aspirations of the local community. Mirroring the distribution of the original “fete” posters, my collages are printed and hung from walls and railings in the physical realm as well as presented online. The familiarity of this technique of displaying posters advertising club nights renders them almost invisible. They camouflage into the landscape, assimilating within this easily recognizable visual language until perused more thoroughly when something seems amiss within normative presentations of gender.
By inserting myself within these polarised presentations of gender, my work interrogates the prescribed gender roles prevalent in the Caribbean. Following the format of the original “fete” posters, these digital collages apply the same aesthetic, adopting similar forms of body surface design, poses, iconography and typography.
Denied subjectivity throughout slavery and post-emancipation, I propose that Caribbean people generate citizenship by reclaiming their stolen subjectivity through self-initiated performances of identity and gender in the preparation and distribution of their own images embedded within “fete” posters. I argue that the creation of “fete” posters becomes a form of protest against the nostalgic constructed stereotypes of “island people”, living in paradise. Contrast between this projection against the politicised and sexual domain of dancehall is momentous. The “slackness”[2] of the dancehall is not augmented as a domain for tourists and although the Caribbean economy largely depends on tourism, specifically becoming a tourist destination suitable for families, dancehall culture is inherently sexual and unsuitable for children.
[1] “Fetes” are parties held at a variety of locations in Barbados, from private homes, bars, nightclubs, to parks and beaches. They are rarely ticketed, usually inexpensive and often free. They can be hosted by anyone, who can secure the venue, organise the DJs and provide a bar to ensure the party is “HYPE”. “HYPE” is a colloquial phrase, meaning cool, fun or popular.
[2] Cooper, Carolyn (1995). Noises in the Blood. Duke University Press. In the Caribbean, “slackness” refers to vulgarity in music, behaviour and culture. Within dancehall culture, “slackness” concerns the performance of highly sexualised lyrics and dancing.
By inserting myself within these polarised presentations of gender, my work interrogates the prescribed gender roles prevalent in the Caribbean. Following the format of the original “fete” posters, these digital collages apply the same aesthetic, adopting similar forms of body surface design, poses, iconography and typography.
Denied subjectivity throughout slavery and post-emancipation, I propose that Caribbean people generate citizenship by reclaiming their stolen subjectivity through self-initiated performances of identity and gender in the preparation and distribution of their own images embedded within “fete” posters. I argue that the creation of “fete” posters becomes a form of protest against the nostalgic constructed stereotypes of “island people”, living in paradise. Contrast between this projection against the politicised and sexual domain of dancehall is momentous. The “slackness”[2] of the dancehall is not augmented as a domain for tourists and although the Caribbean economy largely depends on tourism, specifically becoming a tourist destination suitable for families, dancehall culture is inherently sexual and unsuitable for children.
[1] “Fetes” are parties held at a variety of locations in Barbados, from private homes, bars, nightclubs, to parks and beaches. They are rarely ticketed, usually inexpensive and often free. They can be hosted by anyone, who can secure the venue, organise the DJs and provide a bar to ensure the party is “HYPE”. “HYPE” is a colloquial phrase, meaning cool, fun or popular.
[2] Cooper, Carolyn (1995). Noises in the Blood. Duke University Press. In the Caribbean, “slackness” refers to vulgarity in music, behaviour and culture. Within dancehall culture, “slackness” concerns the performance of highly sexualised lyrics and dancing.
