Grenada was discovered hundreds of years before Columbus, by several waves of peoples coming from the South American Amazon region. All that is left of them are the numerous pottery sherds and their rock art found in various sites across the country, including the Duquesne, Victoria and Mount Rich areas.
It was this rock art that inspired me in 2006, to write a project called 100 Green Spaces, calling for the creation of small parks across the nation that would use plants, seating and a piece of sculpture to highlight segments of our history and culture. The sculptures were to be constructed from repurposed waste and construction materials available after the 2004 hurricane, materials that would normally have been disposed of, in the country’s single landfill at Perseverance. In 2009, the Prince Claus Fund agreed to assist me in creating the first of these 100 Green Spaces, and the Grenada National Stadium Authority (GNSA) gave approval to use the adjacent to the river.
The concept was to convert an empty lot of land adjacent to the stadium at Queen’s Park into a small scale public park with Amerindian element sculptures created from repurposed materials. One of the sculptures, a wailing wall, was intended to highlight some of the over 30 petroglyphs found on rocks around the island as well as honour the spirits of a past people. The wall comprises two metal trees linked by a strip galvanise picket fence; the pickets painted to depict the Amerindian spirits, and was completed off-site. The other artworks include (i) tile mosaic benches, (ii) a metal water boiler repurposed to become a boulder with depictions of Amerindian rock art; (iii) two metal towers, part of the original stadium repurposed as a mountain, flanked with peoples.
(Historical note) In 1887, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Queen Victoria to the throne, this large area of level ground to the north of the town of St. George’s was donated to the government for the people as a place of recreation, and called the Queen’s Park. The location for the sculpture park was ideal, because of its proximity to a small riverside Amerindian settlement that was unearthed a few years ago during bridge construction works, which reached from the water’s edge up into the area of the adjacent present cemetery. The GNSA houses a genuine Amerindian working stone, to be installed in the park at a later date.
The project began early 2010, and suffered through intense drought and the accompanying heat, vandalism and petit larceny – tools, materials and plants disappeared overnight, and in between morning and evening working shifts. Working in these conditions was expecially daunting, and I thank Crane, Andre, Anthony, Mary, Jude, Sheldon and the other persons who worked with me, for their efforts. I also acknowledge with thanks the following: Grenada National Stadium Authority – use of empty lot and on site storage; Gravel and Concrete Limited – gravel; Acme, Bobbies, Kayam, Patterson and Spice Isle Retreaders – used tyres; Marketing and National Importing Board and the Forestry Division of the Ministry of Agriculture – trees.
The wall still waits to be installed.