Coolie colours and Martin Carter

Part of Lotus in the time of the Arab Spring taken from the catalogue

The woman working in the gallery said she likes the military pictures because she used to be in the military. Another woman said she would not go to the exhibition because the work has too much energy and angst which she thinks is reflective of the artist's life. Some people think the work is beautiful and wonder why the little red spots of blood and so on are on the beautiful paintings of the rainforest.

There is an exhibition of selected works of Bernadette Persaud at the National Gallery - "As New and As Old" . My favourite pieces of art are Birth of  Lotus and the Lotus in July.. what the hell do I know about art.. nothing really except that I remember walking into Castellani House way back in 1994 or 1995 to a Guyana which was supposed to be full of Cheddi Jagan and promise and hope and Birth of a Lotus was positioned at the top of the staircase in Burnham's house - the Residence.

 So maybe that painting is not only about the aesthetic qualities or artist but just that it was nice in 1995 when we thought Guyana was coming back on track and sugar was Prince and so and local Government elections happen.

Part of Gentleman Under the Sky (Gulf War)

So time flies to  20 years later, and the track that Guyana coming back on is muddy and hope is now dead except for the elite who have access to the resources.

So it is still nice to look at the paintings. The work includes many references to the Hindu belief system. There is something about Ganga flowing out Shiva's locks into Kaieteur..  something now that says yeah.. coolies do live here in Guyana and not in some make believe place which India exported.

And at a time when it seems no accountability and where it seems as Martin Carter wrote
"The morning is new
but the sun that made it is old
New and Old
it is the face of the World's greatest grief"

and that inspired the title of the exhibition "As New and as Old"

So instead of soldiers walking on grass and trampling it.. and soldiers standing in the Botanical Gardens we have other kinds of ignorance.





And Ms Persaud's irony is powerful.. because when you look closer at the Shiva Natraja in the rainforest dancing on the Apasmara and you recognise that familiar spectacles on the square jawed face.

Part of Tree of Life installation from the catalogue

Ms Persaud has a series of jhandi flag installations.. powerful manifestations of Hindu tradition in our lives. One of the installations is called Tree of Life and the base has these images of offerings done for puja.

Connection in a kind of way to the larger Universe.