 |
| SK untitled – terra alta 1 |
My exploration of Grenada’s carnival icon, the ShortKnee, a masked carnival character wrapped in six and a half yards of vulgar fabric, mirrors, whistles, bells and baby powder – focuses mainly on translations. As with the majority of my ShortKnee translations, it is the spirit of a particular work which inspires a reinterpretation. Background on the artist and/or the work itself somehow leads me to uncover ties and links between the original work, my translation and my ShortKnee research.
 |
| SK untitled – terra alta 2 |
Corbera d’Ebre is a small municipality in Terra Alta, itself a sparsely populated inland district in Catalonia, Spain. This town was thoroughly destroyed during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39). My shortknee works formed part of the last biennale there at the invitation of my friend artist Josep Cañada http://artstung.com/?p=34. Josep is also the coordinator of the arts magazine Massanes i Pataques produced by Zero mig partit pel mig, a cultural association based in Corbera d’Ebre http://www.fundacioelsola.org
 |
| SK untitled – terra alta 3 |
With the disappointing execution of 2012’s carnival theme based on the ShortKnee igniting a long slow burning fuse of frustration, neglect and in many cases, a preference of imported bikini culture over historically relevant culture, these images not only reference Josep’ untitled works in the second issue, but speak to the isolation of this iconic character in a fractured island environment.