The artist - The photograph is of Ants Makanon I, a songwriter, performer, activist and Rasta. I took it last year in Charles Town, Portland, one of Jamaica’s Maroon communities. These were set up in the wild, mountainous parts of the island by escaped slaves.
We were in the Asafu Yard, a wooden building which is the village meeting place and museum. Murals depicting the rich, brutal and brave history of the Maroons cover the interior and exterior walls. They were painted by the late Colonel Frank Lumsden, artist and activist. He is nationally and internationally recognised for his lifelong campaign to preserve Maroon culture and to protect Maroon land rights.
The painted figures have a palpable energy, to which Ants immediately responded by dancing with them. My photograph captures a moment of artists/activists connecting to each other over decades and centuries. Ants lives in a volatile part of Trench Town and all his music speaks of Jamaica’s history and of social and political rights.
I have been recording Trench Town’s social housing for over a decade, working closely with local architects, historians and campaigners. The expanding project encompasses a growing collection of friends and acquaintances made while documenting the architectural landscape.
My work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across the UK, including the Millenium Gallery, Sheffield; Touchstones, Rochdale; the Royal Academy in London, and in previous RSA Annual Exhibitions. Photos from the project have been shown at the University of the West Indies in Kingston Jamaica, and in Vin Lawrence Park, Trench Town. In 2023 my work was selected for the Bar Tur Photo Award exhibition in Berlin and touring.