Randy // Love — Goat Curry Gallery

Love

While walking along a peaceful stretch of beach in St Elizabeth I met Randy. We talked for a while and he told me that he writes poetry. 'Love inspires me,' he told me. 'I didn't grow up with love, I spent a lot of time by myself as a child.'

Randy told me we wasn’t taught how to love, but it has been something which he has found strength and purpose in.

Randy is soft spoken and very shy. He explained to me that finding people to trust and be able to talk to is hard within his community and that when you find true friendship it’s something you must hang onto.

Story gallery

Eighty // Crochet

Eighty taught herself to crochet at ten years old. As a young girl she slowly built up a collection of works which eventually allowed her to leave home at fourteen and provide for herself. Eighty crochets swimwear, tops, shorts, hat and skirts using colourful cottons. Over the years Eighty has created many outfits for her children, always experimenting with different styles. She prides herself on not following patterns but instead coming up with her own designs.

Eighty creates from home and sells mostly through word-of-mouth.

Bamboo King // Studio Visit

Bamboo King created his first animal head in the early 2000s, inspired by a bamboo root he dug up while collecting materials for a building project. In 2015 Bamboo King moved to a property along the beach in Annotto Bay where he established a sculpture garden using found objects collected from the beach. Stacked coal castles decorate the perimeter around his home accompanied by drift wood and animal head rods.

Bamboo King’s practice involves working with the natural forms and contours of materials so that they form a union and fit together willingly.

Georgie // Lignum Vitae

Born in the fishing community of Treasure Beach, Georgie captained boats for most of his life. An injury to his back prevents him from going out to sea, and now Georgie now relies on his carvings to survive.

Although Georgie carves a variety of objects, his life as a fisherman continues to inform a lot of his work. Georgie carves Jamaican canoes, which resemble the traditional dug-out canoes his father used to build by hand from cotton trees. This is a practice passed down from Jamaica’s indigenous Tainos.

Georgie works with lignum vitae (wood of life), a high quality wood native to Jamaica. Nicknamed 'iron wood’ it is a labour intensive building material which requires a lot of time and energy to shape. With limited resources and tools, Georgie continues to use a completely hand-based practice of carving and whittling.

Gabrielle // Roots

While exploring Constant Spring Arcade in Halfway Tree, I stumbled across Gabrielle at her workshop. A born entrepreneur, a self-taught fashion designer with a mission, ambitious, hardworking, business savvy with a contagious smile. The following day I came back with my camera. We spoke about life, work, family expectations and the importance of positive African consciousness within Jamaica.

Thank you Gabrielle for your pure light and positive energy, you’re truly inspiring!

Check out Quaint by GSC to get your hands on some of Gabrielle’s work.

St John // Craft Work

St John has been creating bead curtains for nearly 30 years. Over time he started integrating found plastics from his community such as lighters, rum bottle caps and hair beads. St John combines the colourful plastics with natural Job’s tears, a seed collected at certain times of the year from along Jamaica’s riverbanks.

Slicing his lighters up and creating vibrant zig-zagging patterns, St John's curtains reflect the sounds of deep reggae and dub which is constantly pulsating through his workshop.

Bobo // Bike Shop

Searching for Old Spanish Bridge one day I ended up getting very very lost, taking an hour detour as google maps led me to a random bridge in the heart of St Mary, way off course!

Along the way I met Bobo and his son at their bike shop. Bobo invited me in and showed me around this shop. I asked if I could record a story on him and he smiled broadly, ‘yes!’ At the time I didn’t have my sound recorder so I told him I’d be back. It took 7 months before I was able to return but Bobo remembered me and was happy to share his story.

Bobo remembers a time when his business was flourishing and he had lots of customers. Now, people get gifted new bikes from family in America and they’ve stopped using small businesses like his own. Regardless, Bobo continues his work as a mechanic and does his farming. This is a family business and Bobo is proud to have trained up his children with valuable skills.

Racquel // Weaving

Brown has been weaving since she was twelve years old, a tradition which runs in her family, passed down to her from her grandfather. Using screw pine, harvested from along the coast, Brown combines twill weaving, plating and plain weaving to create her baskets, adding little cross-stitches throughout her work for detail.

By passing her work over a fire made from waste straw, Brown is able to extract the natural oils from the screw pine, leaving her finished pieces glossy. Within Jamaica, the techniques and designs Brown uses have become rare to find.

Bobo // River Maid

I recently visited the spot where I first heard about Jamaica’s fresh water mermaid, in 2016. I’d just arrived in Roaring River, Westmorland, and was planning to base myself there for a couple of months. Bobo and his best friend Dexter had taken me to see the different natural springs and it was here that they introduced me to the folklore of the River Maid.

The three of us sat at this river on my first day in Jamaica staring into the water. Bobo and Dexter silently crushed weed into their palms. Then Dexter turned to me, ‘you believe in mermaids?’ He asked. An image of Ariel popped into my head and a silent chuckle began to build up inside me. Without shifting my gaze I nodded enthusiastically, waiting for the punchline of the joke. ‘Good’ he said. I lifted my eyes, trying hard to keep a straight face, and looked him in the eye. His face was dead serious. I stopped and quickly swallowed my smirk. Hoping he’d go on and tell me more…. he did.

Dexter isn’t with us anymore, (which is a story for another time). So now when I return to Roaring River it’s just Bobo and I who sit by the river. On this visit we talked a lot about Dexter. I told him ever memory I had of him. We laughed hard remember how ridiculous he was and then we cried. I told him that one day I’ll make a film about that time, to really honour Dexter, ‘like a proper film.’ Bobo grinned at me. ‘Yesss, you have to!’

I will.

real talk