West African masquerade traditions fused with French carnavale elements to produce what is now known in Grenada as the ShortKnee, a masked carnival character wrapped in six and a half yards of vulgar fabric, mirrors, whistles, bells and baby powder -breathtaking in brilliant sunlight. Disembodied under yards and yards of deliberately mismatched fabric, faces hidden under white head towels and painted masks, theses clownish figures never laugh.
My exploration of Grenada’s carnival icon, the ShortKnee focuses on translations of other artists’ works featuring pierrot figures, or those dealing with war, migration, desolation and isolation, elements which birthed an unique masquerade. Georgina Tuson is an artist from Carriacou, a Grenadine island. She created her version of a ShortKnee from waste materials that would otherwise choke Carriacou’s beaches, and posted it to her FB page. The long tongue on her work inspired me to quickly create Jab Jab in ShortKnee Head, something that I am sure almost never happens…
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| Jab Jab in ShortKnee head |
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| GG’s Carriacou ShortKnee |