Colourful Kingston caught on canvas

- Contributed

Veteran artist David Pottinger considers his next brushstroke as he paints outside Chancery Lane in downtown Kingston. Urban scenes of Kingston dominate Mr. Pottinger's works.

Georgia Hemmings, Staff Reporter

DAVID Pottinger: A Retrospective is scheduled to open next Sunday at the National Gallery of Jamaica in downtown Kingston, two weeks later than originally planned.

The exhibition was due to open on July 8, but was postponed due to the violence in West Kingston, according to the show's curator, Irina Leyva-Perez.

Advertising executive Deryck Roberts is slated to officially open the exhibition at 11 a.m.

Although Mr. Pottinger has participated in many local and overseas exhibition, this retrospective will be his first, and is designed to present some insight into the work of this pioneer of modern Jamaican art.

The show is also being staged as a tribute to the veteran artist who turns 90 in September.

Mrs. Leyva-Perez described Mr. Pottinger as "the Jamaican painter who has been recording the old parts of Kingston, perhaps because he wishes to recall the old times or portray the realities around him.

"Whatever the reason, Mr. Pottinger has painted his surroundings for more than 60 years," she added.

During that period, the artist never moved away from Kingston, remaining loyal to the city, his main source of inspiration.

"Through his paintings, one can visit the markets, the old streets, and even study the architecture of old Kingston," Mrs. Leyva-Perez told The Sunday Gleaner. "And an interesting part of his work is his recreations of Pocomania ceremonies, a distinctive component of Jamaican culture."

The variety in Mr. Pottinger's works was noted by The Sunday Gleaner in a preview of the exhibition last week. Sixty-three paintings are on display, most of them on loan from various private collections.

But there are also works from the national collection, including three pieces which were recalled from the high commission in London for the purpose of the exhibition.

Urban life

Mr. Pottinger's early pieces depict urban and and market scenes an some landscapes, and these are often set in the most dilapidated and impoverished part of the city.

But as consultant curator Veerle Poupeye stated in the exhibition catalogue, "there is nothing exotic, sentimental or melodramatic about Pottinger's austere, but dignified landscapes. What sets his work apart is his ability to transcend the descriptive and evoke the characteristic moods and peculiar poetry of the city."

So Bread Sellers (1945) shows women selling bread from a cart, a tradition that has now all but disappeared. In Backyard, there are domestic activities that even now take place in the backyard of many Kingston homes. Other evocative scenes appear in Throwing Dice (1945), with a group of men playing on a street corner, while Snapper Time (1945) shows fish vendors with their handcarts on a Kingston street.

Landscape, from the collection of Dr. Owen Minott, is identified and dated 1948-49 by Mr. Pottinger. But, according to Mrs. Leyva-Perez, "it is suspected to be one of the artist's earliest paintings which pre-dates the other works on display."

The piece is shown resting on Mr. Pottinger's old easel.

Mrs. Leyva-Perez explained to The Sunday Gleaner that "Mr. Pottinger's recordings of traditions allows us to study aspects of Kingston life that have since vanished. Through his paintings, we can learn how some pratices have survived or changed over time."

A good example of this is Coal Yard at Spanish Town (1987), which reflects an activity and a place which ceased to exist several years ago. The piece is also unusual as it is the largest-sized work done by Mr. Pottinger to date (119 x 254 cm).

Yet, apart from landscapes and urban scenes, Mr. Pottinger also painted still lifes and some religious works, and the retrospective provides glimpses of these less-documented aspects of the artist.

His still life works deal mainly with Jamaican fruits - ackees, pineapples and bananas. These are shown somewhat distorted, but, at times, combine other objects such as cups and coffee pots. In one - Still Life (1987) - the artist has an arrangement of fruits set against a landscape background, "a composition that shows the more adventurous and innovative side of his work," according to the curator.

Religious works

The Pocomania series of the 1980s record Mr. Pottinger's impressions of this religion, especially since Pocomania scenes have always been a part of his downtown environment.

Nine Night (1949) in the national collection is the earliest painting on this theme, and records very accurately the local custom of celebration on the ninth night after a person's death.

In his piece, Mr. Pottinger has caught the movement of clothes and rhythm of the participants' dancing, and the mysticism of the objects used in the ceremonial rite.

One other rare religious work is Daniel and the Lion (1989) from the collection of Noel Bonnick, who commissioned Mr. Pottinger to paint using the theme.

"They had discussions for a year, while Mr. Pottinger was looking at representations of the Biblical passage by other artists," Mrs. Leyva-Perez told The Sunday Gleaner. "Eventually Mr. Pottinger found his own way of interpreting the theme, a result not expected by the buyer."

Daniel and the lion are presented seated together behind bars as, according to Mr. Pottinger, man and beast were trapped in a similar situation, so they became each other's companion.

"It is a very interesting way of viewing the passage," said Mrs. Leyva-Perez, "But Mr. Pottinger said that, to him, the characters of Daniel and the lion had become a reflection of each other."

Mr. Pottinger also portrayed Rastafarians, especially the "Bobo Dreads", with their distinctive way of dressing and head turbans.

The retrospective is significant for it honours the artist while he is still active. It is also educational, deepening our understanding of this humble, unassuming man and what makes his works so appealing to the Jamaican public.

And, in Mrs. Leyva-Perez's word, "while the history of the city of Kingston is still to be written, the paintings of Mr. Pottinger will always be seen as one of the great contributions towards the documentation of these changes and developments."

Honour

The retrospective is scheduled to run until September 13 and a special ceremony will be held on that day to celebrate the artist's birthday and the closing of the exhibition.

Mr. Pottinger started his artistic career in the 1940s when he participated in art classes at the Institute of Jamaica. He was part of the original group of artists who studied under Edna Manley during the 1940s, a group which included Henry Daley, Ralph Campbell and, briefly, Albert Huie.

After attending art classes for awhile, he started travelling around the city with his sketch pad, drawing buildings that appealed to him. He continued painting, even while working in other endeavours, before finally turning full-time to his craft.

Over the years, Mr. Pottinger has worked in different locations - first in a shop he rented as a studio, then on the sidewalk in front of the Ward Theatre downtown, and, finally, at Malabre House on North Street, the former site of the Jamaica School of Art.

"Mr. Pottinger's oeuvre is vast and he is one of Jamaica's most prolific painters," Mrs. Leyva-Perez said.

He was awarded a Silver Musgrave Medal by the Institute of Jamaica in 1987, and received the Order of Distinction from the Government the following year.