Marlon Griffith
Symbiosis: A Discourse on the Psycho-Social Jungle of the Jamaican Experience
Winston C. Campbell
Installation detail
‘SYMBIOSIS’ is the title of the newest installation by renowned Trinidadian artist, Marlon Griffith at the CAG(e) Gallery at the Edna Manley College and apparently makes reference to the ever shifting/ever stable interconnections that are present in the Jamaican (and Caribbean) societies. Lexically, the word suggests relations, dependence, mergers, sacrifice, encouragement, similarity, dissimilarity and a host of other inter-connected references. Without being heavily grounded in theoretical approaches to discussing Caribbean peoples and their cultural realities, one cannot help but accept that the term seems quite appropriate when attempting to describe the Jamaican cultural situation.
This point is further accentuated if we are ever able to attempt what Mr. Griffith did, as the inaugural artist-in-residence at the Edna Manley College, which is to walk the space that is Jamaica and observe. As simple as it may sound, this is central to the production of the work as well as to beginning to make any sense of the seemingly endless bits of cut-cardboard, paper and shadows that seem to dominate the central area of the rather tiny space that is commandeered by the gallery.
I remember clearly my first encounter with Symbiosis. I was in the area of the CAG(e) during the preparatory period, and was lucky to observe the final moments of this moment, after all the conceptual development and sketching. Inside, persons were busy cutting, pushing, pulling and constructing what turned out to be a maze of a jungle environment.
And this maze is exactly what was encountered on my second engagement with the piece. I entered the CAG(e) on the opening day and immediately sauntered left, in the hope of avoiding the crowd that had gathered in the centre of the room. I was however blocked from entering the actual installation as the usual path was blocked, trapping those who I attempted to avoid a few moments before.
This seems to indicate what I believe is the very nature of Symbiosis; it speaks to the jungle that is life – the jungle that will restrict or regulate one’s movement into and within the space, as demonstrated on hikes taken into areas such as the Blue Mountain range. The jungle is however mysterious. It is a space of much speculation, surprise, drama, shifting shadows, minimal lighting and at times familiar and sometimes frightening creatures. All these elements are however necessary for us to have a jungle. As the title suggests, there is an acute relationship between all such elements. Such was my psychological experience in this symbiotic environment. In fact, as was stated by the artist in relation to this and other works, the work was completed by the very presence of the audience, in the same way that the jungle is not as engaging without the accounts of an explorer or two.
Consistent with his flair for detail, Griffith attempted to capture and keep the attention of the members of the audience that were more formal in their inclination. Though his sense of varied patterns seeme
d clearly influenced by the diverse floral forms that abound in the region (though he highlights the beautiful and equally dangerous Bougainvillea plant as the dominant floral motif), the presentation seems deliberately abstracted or stylised in attempt to emphasise spatial and colour relations throughout the space. This is not surprising, given that the functional nature of any installation is to change the way space is presented, encountered and interpreted. The contrast of the brown cardboard with white paper, against the mostly white space of the gallery is pure poetry. There is much interplay, interaction between the shadows cast, the earthen tones of the cardboard and white walls and floors, so much so that it is very difficult to identify anything specific while observing the patterns. This quality is however useful for another purpose as it apparently adds to the mystery of the metaphorical jungle space.
Additionally, one cannot ignore what appears to be the most dominant motif in the space, a set of curiously presented forms that seem to be creatures of various types. Despite the claims by Mr. Griffith that these are altered presentations of the hummingbird, they seem to present other creatures, such as crustaceans, insects, fish and other organisms, which though acknowledged as important elements in the tropical environment of the Caribbean region, are sometimes a little repulsive based on their somewhat unwelcome appearance.
It is apparent that Mr. Griffith does not just present a range of shapes, shadows and organisms that are present in the Caribbean; he presents these as metaphors of Caribbean personalities. This re-enforces the earlier mentioned concept of duality, highlighting the presence of characters, elements and personalities that both repel and attract, in the same way the forms attract and repel at the same time. This concept of duality is one which is also echoed and encapsulated by the work’s title. The presentation is however, unaggressive and this makes attraction and calm a more likely reaction to the work, especially when one considers the colours used.
Consideration must however be given to artistic intent and the careful viewer will see that the form of the hummingbird, which only exists in the Americas. There are three types of this avian specie in Jamaica including the national bird, Trochilus polytmus, more popularly known as the ‘Doctor Bird’ (as noted by Olive Senior in the ‘Encyclopaedia of Jamaican Heritage’, 2003). This rather miniscule creature is noted for its beauty and mysterious nature; Senior actually notes that the bird was revered as having being connected with the ancestors by the Taínos and this mythological attribute was maintained well after the extinction of Jamaica’s indigenous population.
For Griffith however, the hummingbird appeared to be a suitable metaphor for the culture/people/social circumstances that he encountered during his three month sojourn in Jamaica at the height of the General Election campaigns, due to its observed territorial nature. This nature, if it was muted at any other time of the year, was on display in a post election Jamaica, where our carnivalesque nature is likely to rival the massive and world renowned Trinidad Carnival. The evidence of our revelry and the distinct ‘bands’ were clear with banners, graffiti, posters and innovative fashion that transcended the freely distributed candidate imprinted t-shirts. Such sights would appeal to the aesthetic sensibilities of a Marlon Griffith, a noted carnival costume designer back in his native Trinidad and in London.
Certainly, it would be foolhardy to think that the political arena was the only atmosphere within which this territorial instinct was demonstrated. It could be argued that this sectarian attribute is easily ignored because it is, in one sense, ‘normal’ behaviour
for us Jamaicans and so it could be taken for granted that the critical distance enjoyed by Mr. Griffith allows him to pick up such evidence with a bit more ease than members of the culture.
There is a thought that the suitability of the hummingbird can be questioned since, quite frankly, there are other creatures in the Jamaican space that demonstrate the very quality that he seeks to highlight, and with which members of the Jamaican space willingly identify, without colonial/political imposition. An example could be the lion, which though only found in Jamaica at the Hope Zoo, is revered and embraced by Jamaicans from a variety of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, some of which are not aligned to the Rastafarian movement, which uses the lion as a metaphor or symbol for HIM Haile Selassie I (revered with demi-god by some members of this movement). The bird also appears to be unsuitable due to its relatively obscure nature resulting from its small size and unfamiliarity.
I must re-iterate however, the fact that the work is based on certain observed psycho-cultural characteristics of the Jamaican people and these are clearly demonstrated, as far as the artist is concerned by this creature. Nonetheless, the hummingbird works, simply because it provided the artist and the audience with a variety of forms that would frankly be impossible if another motif was chosen, such as the lion previously suggested. As mentioned earlier, the presentation of the hummingbird is intriguing as it allows for other forms to be read into the work that were not necessarily intended. This is particularly so due to the fact that Mr. Griffith attempted to accentuate the concept of duality that is so important to this work by creating mirror images which suggests the birds in duels, in harmonious interaction and with multiple presentations, in a sense playing on the multiple characteristics, the two sides, of the creature.
This I think is where Marlon Griffith demonstrates his genius and an inept ability to envision multiple forms using the same basic organic shape. This ability allows for the birds to be presented as dancers, insects (e.g. butterflies), crustacean organisms (such as crabs) as well as fish. The presentation is one of a majestic masquerade of floating, standing and crawling forms, each of which have been assigned a space within which they dominate. This becomes even more intriguing when the lights are dimmed considerably, allowing for the shadows to dominate; this allows for such images to stand out as sentinels who apparently guard the spaces from all corners and hidden spaces, though they are somewhat merged in the jungle background.
Such a metaphor is consistent with Jamaican concepts of ‘holding one’s corner’ or space. We are territorial by nature and have no problem demonstrating this through banners, graffiti, colour symbolisms that are political, religious and personal. In social, educational and other settings, whether formal or informal, we as Jamaicans monopolise space. This allows for regular shoppers in the market to locate their favourite distributer of certain ground provisions, despite the fact that there are no apparent markings attributing that space to the individual. The same can be said of the Jamaican concept of the guys on the corner or of students at school, especially at the tertiary level where seating aren’t assigned within or outside of the classrooms. We frankly have an inherent need to acquire and monopolise spaces. The presentation can therefore be summed up in the expression ‘visually articulate’, as Griffith manages to capture the space that is the tropical environment both in a literal and figurative manner, and is then able to use such forms in a symbolic way to speak to the life of the people that he has encountered.
Even when the high murder/crime rate in Jamaica is considered, we are left to consider the fact that the nature of the tropical environment is one that teems with life and much death, but the two occurrences seem to support each other; another
reference to duality! A fallen animal or tree in the forest is known to prolong the life of other organisms from the animal and plant kingdoms and essentially maintains the ecosystem of the forest. I do believe that the use of such temporal materials such as paper and cardboard speaks to the fragile mortality that is enjoyed in the Jamaican space, though one also gets a sense of continuity as the dominant earth-toned cardboard indicates connectivity with the environment. The use of cardboard and paper also speaks to a very African concept of transition through the burying or burning of certain artefacts. Mr. Griffiths notes that the masquerade is very important to his work, and that the ephemeral attribute of carnival manifests itself in, for example, the destruction of the costumes after carnival.
Finally, there are some drawbacks with the show. Though intrigued by the final output, it was noted that the gallery space itself did not fully lend itself to the sort of presentation that was attempted, due in large part to the dominant blues and yellows that filled certain walls and beams. When viewing the floating elements of the installation one cannot help but being distracted from the simplicity and pristine appearance that the work seemed to have been attempting through the clash of colour that presented itself.
Additionally, at the opening I was psychologically taken back to an exhibition of Brazilian works in a show in the UK entitled Tropicalia. Though this show is of a different nature, I couldn’t help but imagine the effects that certain ‘tropical’ sounds could have on the experience of the show. Maybe this is a bit unnecessary, given the fact that it somewhat engineers a specific environment in the experience of the viewer and Mr. Griffith did insist on some amount of interpretive openness being desirable.
Though a little less kinetic some of his other works, Griffith manages to maintain his knack for allowing the audience to participate in and completing the pieces. Conceptually, the works have much to offer and one only needs to connect symbiotically with the presentation, through entering the space in order to be transferred into a world of mystery, intrigue, shadows, rhythm, flora, fauna, and fantasy; a world where what is sometimes is not and vice-versa. It is a world of dual existence, where a creature is a territorial hummingbird and a frightening crab, or a majestically floating butterfly, or even a group of dancers all in one. It is a work of relationships, of interconnectedness, dependence, support. It is a work that will take you into the Jamaican and indeed Caribbean version of tropical Symbiosis!
Griffith on “Symbiosis”
“For many the Caribbean is considered a paradise – blue skies, sandy beaches – but for the ones who live here, the perception may be different. Many of us are very unaware of what is happening on the other islands socially, politically or of how they respond to us, I found myself wanting to look critically at other Caribbean territories and their relationships to each other.
Symbiosis responds critically and poetically to the socio-cultural environment I encountered in Jamaica, in the aftermath of their September general elections. I found an unexpected but poignant metaphor in the doctor bird, Jamaica’s national bird, which is fiercely territorial and aggressively defends its turf against its rivals, actual and perceived. The beautiful but belligerent hummingbird thus stands for the territorialism – national, political, class-based and otherwise – which was observed in Jamaican society and, indeed, the entire Caribbean. It has proved a fertile metaphor: the sharp-edged outlines of the dueling doctor birds have turned into elegant abstracted fretwork patterns that bring to mind parasitic tropical plants and, thus, powerfully evoke the uneasy
tension-filled interdependency between the social groups that shapes contemporary Caribbean societies.“
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