Mon | Sep 15, 2025

Narratives of the African diaspora

Published:Sunday | January 31, 2021 | 8:53 AM
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Osmond Watson – ‘Horse Head Masquerade’, 1970 – oil on canvas.
Photo by Monique Gilpin
Osmond Watson – ‘Horse Head Masquerade’, 1970 – oil on canvas.
William ‘Woody’ Josephs – Man and Woman, 1990 – wood.
Photo by Monique Gilpin
William ‘Woody’ Josephs – Man and Woman, 1990 – wood.
Leonard Daley – Ammanda, 1987 – Enamel on plywood.
Photo by Monique Gilpin
Leonard Daley – Ammanda, 1987 – Enamel on plywood.
Carl Abrahams – ‘Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah’, c1965.
Photo by Monique Gilpin
Carl Abrahams – ‘Hallelujah, Hallelujah Hallelujah’, c1965.
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On Sunday, January 24, 2021, National Gallery West premiered its current exhibition, Surreal Black, on the museum’s YouTube channel with a virtual tour of the exhibition.

Surreal Black features works that reflect the use of dreamlike or irrational juxtapositions and abstract expressionism to symbolise and critique real-world phenomena, which – through this exhibition – are now being interpreted to inform discourse around topics relevant to the experience of people of the African Diaspora. The exhibition seeks to inform its viewers that works of art produced by artists in Jamaica are not static historical documents. Their depictions of the black body are part of the narratives of our lives past and future, but particularly in this, hopefully, more socially aware moment. These narratives include the realities of systemic racism and the circumstances that led to the resurgence and now greater public prominence of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

The exhibition includes the work of artists Carl Abrahams, Marvin Bartley, David Boxer, Leonard Daley, Colin Garland, Christopher Gonzalez, William “Woody” Josephs, Omari Ra, Mallica “Kapo” Reynolds, and Osmond Watson.

National Gallery West is the Western Jamaica-based branch of the National Gallery of Jamaica, situated at the Montego Bay Cultural Centre (formerly known as the Montego Bay Civic Centre) in Sam Sharpe Square. Located in the domed building at the back of the Centre, National Gallery West offers a lively and varied exhibition programme that covers major aspects of Jamaican art, from the historic to the contemporary; from the traditional to the avant-garde.

Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the temporary closure of the museum since March 2020, National Gallery West continues to serve our communities by enhancing our online presence. While we cannot as yet resume face-to-face opening events for our exhibitions, we are continuing our exhibition programming by migrating its visual presence to our online platforms.

To view the virtual tour of the exhibition Surreal Black, please visit the following link:

NG West YouTube Channel: https://youtu.be/OinDSheXOYo

For additional information, please visit our blog, www.nationalgallerywest.wordpress.com. Follow us on Instagram or Facebook or contact our office at (876) 940-6402 /971-3920

Information and images compiled by Monique Gilpin, assistant curator at National Gallery West