Prejudice, principles of the minibus driver and public art in Guyana 2024

 

Principles 

"I aint want you tell me nutting about de music' the driver of the minibus which was about one third full said as he drove past me when I signaled  I would like to jump in.

Rain set up, market bags heavy. Music aint too loud and front seat empty.

I was prepared to psychologically block my ears if the driver had raised the music.

But the bus man had strong principles, and he aint taking no passenger who going against his principles.. the loud dutty music with the sexist lyrics is worth more than my $100

Many of us let the buses pass when we realise the music loud and so, and now of course the buses also filter screen out passengers according to their principles.

Prejudice

So this filtering out and so, even though there might have been an opportunity for some dialogue. But..bus man holding on..

Principles on my mind this week as Winslow Craig's sculpture which has been in development since 2016 seems to have found a place  in the public. 

Well at least a part of it as there is no story anywhere as yet as the journey to the roundabout.

There is a lot of admiration on social media.

I come to know that the sculpture goes public because people want to know is what kind of "ugly thing going up" and there are calls to Jesus and God to bless the land and so on because the sculpture does not look like anything which some people find holy.

Public art

Kind of like Cuffy, when Cuffy, the 1763 Monument went up and plenty people felt this was one of Burnham evil deities manifesting as public art, and nuff rumours about sacrifice and thing and so on.

And I could imagine that many people seeing Kali murti would also imagine demon and so - Kali, with the blood tongue hanging out and the necklace of skulls and so..

And in my head another conversation that the reason it took long for Winslow Craig's sculpture to go up is that 'Amerindian' people got enough and no more was needed, and every installation it seems manifests the prejudices which are not going away. 

First time I saw a traffic roundabout was in the UK in 1990 and I saw it because of the flowers with bright colours on it.  

Then other roundabouts with mounds of green and so on, nice pleasant things which nobody seemed to complain about. 

But in Guyana, even trees and plants and so people vex about , and a silk cotton tree at a round about might generate as much fear as a sculpture we do not like. 

I used to frighten Cuffy too, until Philip Moore explained his vision and we learned that he apparently did not really want it so high up, but rather at a level so people could interact with it. 

As it is, we really cant see the details with the naked eye.

It is nice to watch the details on the Winslow Craig sculpture through the skillful photography of others because it is not clear whether we would get to see those details close up on the roundabout. 

And maybe there will be some dialogue with the artist which would help the public to understand the sculpture and keep that as part of the record. 

But so many of us like the minibus driver, prefer to hold on to principles which would keep us away from others.