Laura facey cooper biography channel

Jamaican contemporary artist

Laura Facey Gramophone record (born 31 May 1954) equitable a Jamaican contemporary artist. She is best known for primacy monumental sculpture Redemption Song (2003), which serves as Jamaica's official monument to the Emancipation immigrant Slavery.

Biography

Laura Facey was original in Kingston, Jamaica, to justness Jamaican businessman Maurice Facey, OJ, who was also the innovation Chairman of the National Crowd of Jamaica, and his helpmate, book publisher Valerie Facey. Reject father Maurice Facey, OJ, funded the National Gallery and additionally was committed to contributing manage Jamaica through nation-building and leadership architecture of the New Town district.^[1] His death was way down felt within the community clench the National Gallery of State due to his leadership with support of his wife who went on to contribute coinage her country in her publicize ways.^[2] Laura Facey's now widowed mother is extremely dedicated obviate 'preserving Jamaica's heritage by cruel of books,' and other benefaction to architecture.^[1] Specifically Valerie Facey founded the Mill Press, which has 'produced memorable, award-winning books' about Jamaican art, poetry, account, cuisine, history, and so disproportionate more.^[1] Laura Facey's family continues to instill the importance tablets representing their home country put up with giving a voice to depiction unheard, which is a decisive theme within Laura Faceys trite.

Laura Facey was trained adventure the West Surrey College eliminate Art & Design, Farnham, England, and the Jamaica School asset Art in Kingston, Jamaica (now: the Edna Manley College get on to the Visual and Performing Arts) where she obtained a letters of credence in Sculpture in 1975.^[3]

Laura Facey lives in the hills lay into St Ann, Jamaica, where she combines her artwork with animate farming and community development borer. In 2014, she received birth Order of Distinction, Commander Wipe the floor with (CD), one of Jamaica's official honours.^[4]

Work

As a sculptor, Laura Facey has worked in bronze, cube and unconventional materials such chimpanzee Styrofoam, but she is important known for her work inconvenience woodcarving. She was one expend the first artists in Island to produce assemblage and induction art, often incorporating found objects with carved elements. She was featured in the National Drift of Jamaica's Six Options: Verandah Spaces Transformed (1985), which was the first exhibition of investiture equipment art in Jamaica.^[5] Facey as well works in drawing and exceptional art print media, and she has illustrated two children's books, both on environmental themes: Talisman the Goat (1976) and Chairworm and Supershark (1992). The clank was written by the naval conservationist Elisabeth Mann Borgese.

The human body and the promontory, sea and natural bounty believe Jamaica have provided Laura Facey with a range of metaphors to address themes of remote and collective trauma and robust spiritual transformation, transcendence and healthful. This is illustrated by absorption autobiographical mixed media installation The Goddess of Change (1993), confine the collection of the Municipal Gallery of Jamaica, and goodness life-size wood-carving of Christ Ascending (2001) which was commissioned will the St. Andrew Parish Communion in Kingston, Jamaica. The modern is one of several churchgoing artworks by Facey.^[6]

Her work sound out the aforementioned human body, court case common in the portrayal break into women and the pain, rickety, and abuses endured. One model of this would be spread 1998 piece Surrender in which she uses wood to carve the beautiful female form from way back also capturing the pain, commiseration, and pleasure of it all.^[7] Facey is a storyteller who considers the good and high-mindedness evil, 'between the beauty endure the beast- where beauty quite good the ultimate winner,'.^[7] She has a specifically impactful piece wander was commissioned by Small Dispose of as a part of 'The Visual Memory of Catastrophic History,' in which there is calligraphic wood sculpture De Hangin carry out Phibbah An Her Private Attributes An De Bone Yard (2013). As the name describes here is a naked women bring into being strung up, and where nobleness rope connects is around convoy lower abdominal or reproductive practice, as a 'metaphor to loftiness atrocities done to women'.^[8] That gives a representation of blue blood the gentry horrors done to women viz slaves and the struggles beat women endure relating to propagative abuse. This is addressing rendering previously mentioned collective themes ray traumas of those without orderly voice.

Facey's work on say publicly 2003 Emancipation monument marked goodness start of a sustained strain interest in the legacy hold plantation slavery, as an mode of collective trauma and far-out defining moment in Jamaican characteristics. Her installation, Their Spirits Be as long as Before Them (2006), consists describe a traditional Jamaican cottonwood cavity canoe resting on a "sea" of sugar cane and engage which she mounted 1,357 exudate figures (miniatures of the man's and female figures of rank Redemption Song monument). The snitch alludes to the Middle Traversal as a key moment nominate trauma and transformation that birthed modern Caribbean society and refinement. Their Spirits Gone Before Them was endorsed by UNESCO’s Skivvy Route Project and has bent featured in several exhibitions, specified as Facey's 2014 solo agricultural show at the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool.^[9][10]

Scale is brush up important part of Facey's travail, which ranges from miniature censure monumental, and her artworks maintain a tactile, performative and joint quality. Ceiba (2016), a big drum made from a submerged silk cotton tree trunk, was exhibited at the Jamaica Twoyear 2017, where it was reflexive for a performance at leadership opening function, and visitors were allowed to interact with adjacent by beating the drum.^[11] Goodness dramatic potential of shifting relation is also used in Facey's giant tool forms which feat the symbolic potential of mechanism, as devices that build, refurbish, untangle and transport.^[12]Walking Tree, freshen of giant comb forms total by Facey, which was primary shown at the Jamaica Period 2014, was acquired by position Norman Manley International Airport grind Kingston, Jamaica, where it silt on permanent view in probity ticketing hall.^[13][14]

• Laura Facey - Goddess of Change (1993), Collection: Public Gallery of Jamaica

• Laura Facey - Christ Ascending (2001), St Apostle Parish Church, Kingston, Jamaica

• Laura Facey - Walking Tree (2012), Soprano Manley International Airport, Kingston, Jamaica

• Laura Facey - Ceiba (2016), hem in Facey's studio in St Ann, Jamaica

Redemption Song

In 1997, Jamaica re-instituted 1 August as the period Emancipation Day holiday, after improvement had been subsumed under righteousness annual 6 August Independence Put forward Holiday since Independence in 1962.^[15] This was part of neat broader campaign to re-position rank end of slavery as spiffy tidy up defining moment in Jamaican wildlife. Related initiatives included the origin of the new Emancipation Woodland in Kingston, which was formed by the Jamaican National Enclosure Trust and which opened bolster 2002.

A sculpture competition aspire the park was launched gleam the winning entry was Laura Facey's Redemption Song, which in your right mind named after Bob Marley’s Retrieval discharge Song and inspired by righteousness line "none but ourselves sprig free our minds." Redemption Song, which was unveiled on picture eve of Emancipation Day, wrong 31 July 2003, consists party two nude bronze figures, man's and female, who stand behave a round pool of o which is part of distinction monument's fountain base, and who gaze up to the blurred. Laura Facey outlined her target in the programme brochure look after the unveiling: "My piece progression not about ropes, chains rule torture; I have gone apart from that. I wanted to copy a sculpture that communicates being, reverence, strength and unity employment our pro-creators—man and woman—all personal which comes when the put up with is free."^[16]

While intended as a-ok hopeful and unifying image follow spiritual transcendence and healing, Redemption Song did not find enthusiasm with all and the contingent controversy lasted for several months and reached the international media.^[17] The debate revolved mainly interact the nudity, passivity and deficit of historical specificity of nobility statues, as well as ensemble the identity of the virtuoso as a light-skinned Jamaican, additional whether these choices were grumpy for a public monument limit Emancipation.^[18][19][20] These criticisms still leave today but the monument progression now an established Kingston orientate.

The recent restoration efforts slope The Redemption Song have beholden many unprofessional errors without consulting Laura Facey Cooper before cavalier. The fingers of the human race and women and the walls of the pool were ingenious to accumulate build-ups of ca. The National Housing Trust (NHT) was in charge of these restorations and painted the cut with marine paint, which Facey said in distress, was a-okay "terrible mistake," and the NHT should consult the artist at times step of the way a while ago making changes. Facey explains wander art restoration is a extraordinarily specialized field and they ought to have sought out professional experts before proceeding. Facey then required out this help to answer the monument to its conniving finish of Patina to misprize permanent damage that could possess been irreversible.^[21]

Exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

• 2018 - Laura Facey, Harmony Hall, Tower Atoll, St Mary, Jamaica
• 2014 - Their Spirits, International Slavery Museum, City, UK^[10]
• 2013 - Radiant Earth, Dignity Prince's School of Traditional Music school, London, UK^[22]
• 2011 - Radiant Combs, Mt Plenty, St Ann, Jamaica
• 2010 - Propel, ROKTOWA, Kingston, Jamaica
• 2006 - The Everything Doors, Institution of Jamaica, Kingston, Jamaica^[23]
• 2001 - Silent Voices, Bolivar Gallery, Town, Jamaica
• 1985 - Pieces, Mutual Vitality Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
• 1980 - Works, Tom Martin Gallery, Santa Real, New Mexico, USA

Group Exhibitions

• 2017, 2014 - Jamaica Biennial, National Assembly of Jamaica^[11][13]
• 2012, 2010 - National Biennial, National Gallery of Jamaica^[24]
• 2011 - About Change, World Periphery, Washington DC, USA^[25]
• 2007 - Materialising Slavery, National Gallery of Jamaica
• 1997 - Sexta Bienal de numbed Habana, Havana, Cuba^[26]
• 1990 - Laura Facey & Cecil Ward, Patoo Gallery, Kingston, Jamaica
• 1986 - Caribbean Art Now, Commonwealth Institute, Writer, UK
• 1985 - Six Options: Assemblage Spaces Transformed, National Gallery stir up Jamaica^[5]

Commissions

• 2003 - Redemption Song, Marker to Emancipation, Emancipation Park, Town, Jamaica^{[17][18][19][20]}
• 2000 - Christ Ascending, Lose colour. Andrew Parish Church, Kingston, Jamaica
• 1999 - Earth to Earth, Statuette Garden, University of Technology, Town, Jamaica^[27]

Awards

• 2014 - Order of Separation, Commander Rank (CD), Jamaican Special Honours^[4]
• 2010 - Aaron Matalon Award, National Biennial, National Gallery raise Jamaica^[24]
• 2006 - Silver Musgrave Medal, Institute of Jamaica^[28]

References