Art of the month: ‘Enigmatick Funktification’

It’d be rather difficult to explore our Bahamian Domestic Permanent Exhibition without noticing “Enigmatick Funktification” – an energetic work occupying more than 48 square feet of wall. The acrylic painting is the product of a collaborative approach, known as “Jammin’”, by John Beadle, the late Jackson Burnside and Stan Burnside.

Though it could easily take days to thoroughly examine the work, visitors can find clues pointing to the painting’s Junkanoo roots in a single glance. “Enigmatick Funktification” – a mélange of vibrant colours, figures in costumes and musical instruments – is reminiscent of Bay Street in the early morning hours of Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. This is when Junkanoo, a biennial street parade and the country’s most revered festival, takes place. There is good reason for the tradition’s presence in the painting.

Discovering their affinity for Junkanoo in the late 70s and early 80s, Jackson and Stan Burnside were leading members of the Saxons Junkanoo group for years before leaving to help found the One Family group. It’s no surprise, then, that Junkanoo is heavily represented in their works.

Jammin’ – a term coined by the Burnside brothers – originated in Junkanoo shacks. It refers to the process of as many as six Junkanooers working on a single piece simultaneously. Inspired by the approach, the duo embraced the Jammin’ methodology in their studios, creating works together.

Founding B-C.A.U.S.E. (Bahamian Creative Artists United for Serious Expression) in the early 1990s, the Burnside brothers expanded the Jammin’ circle and invited Beadle, Brent Malone, Antonius Roberts and Max Taylor to collaborate on a body of work. They later invited then-recent COB graduate John Beadle to join what is now referred to as the “Burnside-Beadle-Burnside” collaboration.

Between 1995 and 1996, the trio produced a series of works of which “Enigmatick Funktification” was a part. The collection traveled to Atlanta, Georgia in 1996, where it amazed visitors at the Olympic Games. “Enigmatick Funktification” has since made the rounds and returned home, where it rests comfortably in our permanent collection. Stop by and see it Tuesday to Saturday between 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. or Sunday between 12 noon and 4 p.m.

Art of the Month: Shanty Town Tea Service

On my way to work, I noticed that a familiar town had been demolished. Boards and other forms of structure that once housed a community lay broken on the ground.

I’ve always known that the town enclosed by trees and bushes was there, but when it was exposed, the size and difference of the town was a shock. I was looking at another way of living, another standard of living; how certain groups of people lived.

July 2nd, 2014, Tracy-Ann Perpall, also known as TAP, released a documentary on YouTube called Bwapen: Village Documentary. This documentary gave insight on the burning of a ‘shanty town’ village off of Joe Farrington Road and the Haitian-Bahamian situation in the Bahamas. Perpall’s investigation into this tragedy unearthed tensions between Bahamian landowners and ‘shanty town’ residents, the true conditions of said ‘shanty towns’, and ended by questioning the public. “Does real change occur with dismantling Bwapen, or is it just a band-aid attempting to cover the symptoms of underlying problem” – Tracy Ann Perpall.

Over the past year and a half, the government has been working to effectively address and act upon the issue of growing shantytowns within New Providence. Over the past year and a half, the island has experienced a mass exposure of those towns, several fires of buildings in the towns, and demolition and plans of demolition for some areas. These issues of immigration and the living standards of some immigrants and poor Bahamians in the Bahamas have not popped up over night.

In 2011, Jeffrey Meris, a graduate of the College of the Bahamas and a Popop Junior Prize Winner, constructed Shanty Town Tea Service, which is on display in the Bahamian Domestic exhibition. As a Haitian-Bahamian, Meris comments on the Haitian-Bahamian situation and the view of said people through the manipulation of clay. The class of a tea service is not often compared or associated with standard of shantytowns. Contradictory in some senses, some may say. The standards of shanty towns deemed as “environments that incubate horrible, horrible health challenges,” by Duane Miller does not compare with the dainty, polished China set utilized during tea parties.

In 2011, Jeffrey Meris was concluding his studies at the College of the Bahamas. He commented on the social structure of shantytowns within the Bahamas. In 2014, Tracy-Ann Perpall exposed the social structure of a forgotten shantytown in her documentary. At the later part of 2014, the relevance of the conversation still prevails. During the late part of 2014, on my way to work, I noticed that a familiar town had been demolished.

Shanty Town Tea Service
Jeffrey Meris
Dawn Davies Collection

Written by NAGB Gallery Assistant, Jodi Minnis for the Art of the Month.