Dreams of the Narco-Culture 1997

Artist Statement

The theme for the series of paintings began as ‘ Christ in the Age of Cars’. I wanted to comment the mentality of some Jamaican people in the relationship to cars. it was an attitude that values materialism ove sprituality but yet we are probably one of the most religious  countries in the world, with more churches per square mile than anywhere else. Somehow some among us have an as attitude more not befitting of who we really are; a gifted,  resourceful people. There are those among us that display our ignorance, lack of self control and crudity without conscience. A provenace of crudity, callousness and rudeness. They among us hide behind  christlikeness on church days, yet the crime rate, murder rate, road fatalities and lack of respect for human life escalates.

We have a way though of appearing calm, a sort of easiness about us. In the images I express this feeling of the human condition by using the image of a portrait of  the “Wounds of Christ in the Age Aids” by David Boxer. Something seems to be eating away at our christlikeness. It is as if we are in a a state of narcosis. This narcosis resembles an unconscoiusness sleep due to some non-spiritual drug. This is suggested in Porttrait 1 and portrait 2.

This led me into questioning a new theme – Jamaica, Narco-Culture.  What implications could i make and justify the by suggesting that we are on a spiritual decilne. Could I leave that conclusion to the viewer as in Painting # 5 and Painting # 10 where the whole image starts to break apart and is slowly vanishing. 

In recollection it has often been expressed by the older folks in our society, those over fifty, that the younger people of the now generation, bombarded by virtual rality, video games, digital satelite, cable television, where nothing is hidden from our eyes and everything we take in conditions us to behave like characters in a movie, seem to be in a state of euphoria, like ‘frightened fridays’. This high, elation or false happiness is evidenced in our narcosis. We ingest the non-spiritual thereby currupting the soul with the hops malignant joy. This temporary ‘joy’ makes us   aggressive, violent, indisciplined and lethargic.

I reference Francis Bacon’s The Magdalene’; a figure partially draped, solid as a marble and is bent and double. Over her head is a blue umbrella from which hangs a semi-transparent veil, while below in partial obscurity her head like that of a wierd animal extended on a long neck, mouth wide open in a great wail or scream of grief. This was the devotion to the monstrous, the deformed, or the disesaed as indicated in the images Omen 1 and Omen 2. This is the plight of our humanity.

I wanted to suggest by the appearance of the images a feeling of ‘duppylikeness’. The outside appears calm but by the suggestion of viruslike strucures, eating away at the inside of us. The eyes and mouth are partially closed suggesting the drowsiness caused by those obligate parasites. There is something wierd, montrous, deformed or diseased as in Paramecium 1 and 2 which calls upon our lethargy and eats away at the soul of man, his christlikeness rendering him incapable of showing through his light.

We like virus pass on our dis-ease to others. The use of the paramecium shaped cells suggest by their environment a decay.

I wanted to be specific with my imagery hence the simplicity of the expression as in ‘Phantasma’ and ‘Promised to the lender’ The expressions are the focus of the images. It is with regret we have defined our  unawareness of our departure from god. We have sought that which comes from without and lost that which comes from within.

Bariffe June 1997