The work I call Tebou (Carib word for stone) is a posterboard triptych referencing another untitled work by Cuban artist Santiago Olazábal, of a spirit in a stone breathing on a man. Here the ShortKnee seeks and receives the breadth from a stone spirit, against a red background with petroglyph images. This continues my crossover from, and connects with my interest in the use of Grenada’s Amerindian petroglyphs as artistic subject.
I have translated the works of over 19 artists on war, migration, desolation and isolation, in particular with reference to works including or featuring pierrot, harlequin, clown or acrobat figures, precursor to our present day ShortKnee. ShortKnee can be traced back to the spoken word traditions of the West African Chantuelle, oral libraries whose recollections made bearable the suffering of slaves on the plantations ofGrenada, fused withFrench Pierrot elements, and wrapped in six and a half yards of vulgar fabric that is breathtaking insunlight masquerade. I have researched both the Egungun and Pierrot traditions as part of my ShortKnee study, and have formed the following opinion: Once a disguise and a way to compromise, theShortKnee is today, in this artist’s opinion, the iconic instrument of the history of Grenada, anda subject worthy of vigorous visual artistic study.
