amjamin

For her work 'Dreaming Backwards' and 'Occupy' (Alchemy of Promise) Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, jeweller and sculptor, was awarded the 2012 Aaron Matalon Award. Jamaica-born Thomas-Girvan was born 1961. She attended the Parsons School of Design in New York. She has also made a number of public commissions, one of which was presented to the Queen of England. Her work has been exhibited in the United States, Jamaica, Trinidad, Venezuela and Mexico, and she recently had a solo exhibition, titled Resonance, at Hi-Qo Gallery in Kingston. She currently lives and works in Trinidad. "Over time my work has been expanding in scale and so one of the pieces is a wall piece 10 feet long, titled 'Dreaming Backwards'. This piece brings together many of the recurring themes in my work, referencing our collective history/memory, and is realised in materials which are environmentally relevant [such as a palm frond, bird feathers and man-made found objects]," ...

The breeze from the Kingston waterfront leads to the doorsteps of the National Gallery of Jamaica (NGJ), opening to a burst of elements of creative expression of Jamaican artists from across the world. With the moods ranging from subtle and gentle to those that shock, the 2012 Biennial encapsulates the myriad of statements. "In the Biennial, there is work that is playful, sombre, respectful, or provocative," said Dr Veerle Poupeye, executive director of NGJ. "This year," she continued, "we expanded the definition of "Jamaican artist" to include artists of Jamaican parentage - previously, we used (residents of) Jamaica or Jamaican born as the criteria. "We did so in recognition of the significant role played by the Jamaican diaspora in the development of what can be considered Jamaican culture, which is itself an increasingly diverse and transnational field." This wide view was reflected as one walked through the gallery, ...