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| The Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition: in Paris but departing soon. (SWAN) |
As travellers
stream through the Gare du Nord train station in Paris, they can’t help but
notice several huge placards featuring musicians in an array of poses and
distinctive clothing.
Those who
stop to examine the images more closely learn that the posters are ads for the blockbuster
Jamaica Jamaica! exhibition, now in
its final days at the Philharmonie de Paris, a cultural institution within
Paris’ immense Cité de la Musique complex in the northeast of the French capital.
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| A worker stands before a placard at the train station. |
As the show
winds down and gets ready to move on, it is still pulling in viewers, thanks to
ads such as those at the station (including on the monitors showing departures and
arrivals) and to special events such as workshops
and meetings.
In fact, on
Aug. 8, the exhibition was the venue for a reception hosted by the Embassy of Jamaica, to mark the island’s 55th anniversary of independence from
Britain.
“The
exhibition not only showcases Jamaica's rich musical heritage from mento to ska
to reggae and dancehall, it is also about Jamaica's political history, our
journey from colonialism to independence as well as the post-independence
period ,” said Ambassador Vilma McNish, who welcomed a group of France-based
Jamaicans to the Philharmonie, some of whom were seeing the exhibition for the
second or even the third time.
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| Nyabinghi percussion - some of the instruments on display. |
For many
visitors, one of the most notable aspects of Jamaica Jamaica! is the care that the organizers have taken to go
beyond reggae and to give an overall view of the history of Jamaican music,
tracing it back to its African roots.
This is achieved while also highlighting the unquestionable contributions of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, the I-Threes and other renowned artists and producers.
This is achieved while also highlighting the unquestionable contributions of Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Bunny Wailer, Jimmy Cliff, the I-Threes and other renowned artists and producers.
“We wanted to
show the culture as well as the music and to show that Jamaican music is an
important part of the history of the Black Atlantic,” said exhibition project
manager Marion Challier, in an interview prior to the opening.
“There are so
many stereotypes about the music and so many stigmas attached and we wanted to
go beyond that.”
Challier
and curator Sébastien Carayol have also focused on the role that art and
literature play in portraying the music, with works by master painters such as
Kapo and Barrington Watson on display, alongside portraits of musicians by Danny
Coxson (see: http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/03/france-hosts-major-exhibition-on-jamaican-music/)
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| Photos of Bob Marley at Jamaica Jamaica! |
But the show naturally contains elements that haven’t pleased everyone. Some visitors have questioned the prominence given to dancehall towards the end of the display, wondering if the less-admirable facets of the music should be the image that spectators take with them as they leave the exhibition.
The wording
on some of the panels accompanying the exhibits has also caused puzzlement. Island
Records founder Chris Blackwell, for instance, is described as seeing The
Wailers’ “strong export potential” in the following terms: the “lead singer
was, ideally, mixed-race and able to tone down his Jamaican accent when
necessary”.
Despite such
factors, the exhibition’s unprecedented scope and its impressive assemblage of instruments, records, artwork and film footage have done much to highlight the
richness of Jamaican music and its global appeal.
The show ends Aug.
13, and the organizers say they hope parts of it will travel to other major cities
... perhaps even via the Gare du Nord. The dream, too, is that it
will one day reach Jamaica.
