I’ve survived 3 hurricanes to date: Ivan (2004), Emily (2005) and Beryl (2024), the last two thankfully, with minimal damage.
I lost part of my roof to Ivan and a couple of windows, but overall, I fared well. Within days, I was back inside my house, living in a dome tent and making do, a blue tarpaulin strung between the tent and the bathroom to shade where the gaping hole let the sun in and the rain. I spent a good part of those early days painting.
Me painting inside my damaged house post-Ivan, 2004. Photo: Susan Mains
Here I am 20 years later, and the preparation for Beryl was more or less the same. The oven and fridge were packed with breakables and turned to face the wall; shelves and the closet were emptied and packed into plastic bins and bags and stuffed under my bed. Cleaning supplies packed separately were the last thing to put away because they would be the first things required after the storm. I am eternally grateful that Beryl hurried by with just wind and water; I dreaded repeating the post-Ivan days and weeks.
September mourn…post-Ivan series. Photo: SLCT
This is the series of Ivan paintings I created in 2004-2005 to reflect my life at that point. Some of them were part of a group show Artists of Grenada that I curated at the Galerie d’art Nader, Coral Gables, Florida USA in 2005.
Building on HA Blaize/Tyrell Street after Ivan. Photo: SLCT
Grenada and the region have been in the international news: climate change, justice, reparations… small islands paying for the greed of developed first-world countries, being devoured. For us former colonies, we still live the legacy of a mindset of keeping up with the big boys, using methods and policies that some larger countries have abandoned or modified to be more green-conscious. Watching the traumas (there are many) unfolding on Carriacou and Petite Martinique is clear indication of the impacts of climate change/crisis, and, despite us living half the year in ‘hurricane season’ we are still woefully underprepared for the onslaught wrought by mankind-influenced nature.
Post-Ivan scene. Photo: SLCT
Art is a way to make visible how we feel and how we process our trauma. After Ivan, the Agency for Reconstruction and Development (ARD) caravan produced a calendar from the many paintings produced by our nation’s children, to help them process what had happened. I hope after Beryl, a similar exercise will be undertaken to document and towards healing.