Painting the story of Jamaican music on vinyl
LAST SUNDAY, a brilliant art exhibition opened at 10A West King’s House Road, once the home of legendary filmmaker Perry Henzell, his wife Sally and their children Justine and Jason. 10A doubled as Perry’s office and production studio. Several scenes from the classic movie The Harder They Come were shot and edited there. The Jamaica National Heritage Trust ought to acknowledge 10A as a heritage site. The sound track of The Harder They Come propelled reggae music across the globe.
10A is now a popular entertainment venue. Film screenings honour the legacy of Perry and Sally. She was the art director of The Harder They Come. There’s a medical marijuana dispensary and herb house. Two art galleries showcase the work of a wide range of visual artists. The current exhibition, “Dubbing 62: Side A Babylon + Zion,” comprises 31 paintings on vinyl records by the truly exceptional artist Matthew McCarthy.
On his eyedealistja website, Matthew summarises his artistic practice: “I find it important to explore multiple seemingly unrelated topics and the irony of forcing them to coexist ....
My main theme is optimism; a sense of Idealism while interrogating the harsh realities of our human existence.”
A PULSATING FUSION
‘“Dubbing 62” vibrantly documents the history of Jamaican popular music. It is a pulsating fusion of visual art, music and lyrics. Side A ranges from 1954 to 1979. Side B, which tells the later story, will open in August to celebrate Independence. “Dubbing 62” was conceptualised and curated by Kerry Chen, an outstanding creative who is completing a degree in Arts Management and Art History at the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts.
In 2022, Kerry conceived and curated “Vib(e)ration: Reggae in Art.” In a recent email, she described her vision: “I resolved to utilise visual art as a medium for delving into how reggae transcends mere sound.” A year later, she attended the Frieze art fair in New York and discovered the “Artist Plate Project,” a fundraiser for the homeless. Artists were commissioned to paint limited edition dinner plates which were sold for $250.00 each.
Kerry immediately began to think about how she could “Jamaicanise” the project, as she put it. That was the origin of “Dubbing 62.” She invited Matthew to collaborate and he caught the vision right away. His 31 paintings illustrate the songs in the Side A playlist. Herbie Miller, Director/Curator of the Jamaica Music Museum, defined for Kerry and Matthew the social and political context of the music. He introduced them to songs that expressed the mood of the times.
SYSTEMIC RESISTANCE
“Dubbing 62” is fundamentally subversive. Conventional dubbing in Jamaican music is the process of extracting the vocals from a recording and creating an instrumental remix in which drum and bass become the primary musical forms. In “Dubbing 62: Side A Babylon + Zion,” the vocals are not extracted. They are an essential testimony to the philosophy of the songwriters who reflect on the contradictions of Jamaican society. There is war inna Babylon. But also the possibility of peace inna Zion. Here on earth!
All the same, drum and bass are essential elements of “Dubbing 62.” The beat advances the message in the lyrics. Bob Marley’s “One Drop,” from the 1979 Survival album, is not one of the songs in the exhibition’s playlist. But Marley’s affirmation of the powerful drum beat certainly resonates with the other songs:
“Feel it in the one drop
And we’ll still find to rap
We’re making the one stop
The generation gap
Now feel this drumbeat
As it beats within
Playing a rhythm
Resisting against the system
The drumbeat within signifies the internalisation of systemic resistance against oppression.
“REGGAE POETRY”
Kerry recently reminded me that she was a student in the “Reggae Poetry” course I taught for over a decade in the Department of Literatures in English at The University of the West Indies, Mona. Kerry was a reluctant Economics major who became a refugee in the Humanities. Her “Curator’s Statement” would certainly have earned her an A+ grade in that “Reggae Poetry” class. She gives a perceptive summary of the exhibition’s scope:
“Embedded within the lyrics of the 62 songs are various archetypal characters, such as the bakra massa, peasant farmer, higgler, ruler, sufferah, rudeboy, revolutionary, and others. These characters emerge and evolve in response to the socio-economic hardships that predominantly affect the working class citizens. Furthermore, despite existing in different social spheres, these characters often intersect due to the conflicting dynamics within and surrounding them.”
Several events at 10A will amplify the exhibition which is up until May 31. Opening hours are Tuesday–Sunday, 1:00–7:00 p.m. On Wednesday, May 8 at 6:00 p.m., there will be a seminar, “Transcending Sound: Music & Meaning.” The panellists are Matthew McCarthy; cultural critic Dr Isis Semaj-Hall; writer and editor
Annie Paul; and filmmaker Storm Saulter. On Saturday, May 11 at 2:00 p.m., Matthew will lead a visual art workshop. That evening at 6:00 p.m., there will be a curated vinyl listening experience with Club RPM (Uncle Ronnie & Paul “Stamma” Watson).
A recurring theme of “Dubbing 62” is Kerry and Matthew’s realistic optimism. In her eloquent “Curator’s Statement,” Kerry acknowledges the persistent tensions in Jamaican society. Nevertheless, she affirms that, “Ultimately, these tensions encouraged members of the working class, the demographic to which many of the musicians belonged, to reimagine an environment which could exist beyond the reaches of colonialism and oppression.” Nuff rispek to Kerry and Matthew for persuasively reminding us that, despite our brutal history, there is hope for Jamaica! “Dubbing 62” is the visual soundtrack of Jamaica’s evolution from colony to aspirational republic.