The 1619 Collection

I was participating in an art show and a woman approached me to ask…’Do you have family in Antigua or Jamaica?’. To which I replied ‘Yes, my father is from Antigua!’. Although I am mixed race and hold dual citizenship in Canada and Antigua, my skin is lily white so I was surprised by her question. As it turns out a branch of my family set roots in Jamaica…subsequent conversations with this distant relative led me to discover Frank Walter who has received posthumous recognition as one of the Caribbean’s most significant artists. His story fit into my fascination with how the African diaspora managed to build lives and culture from the depths of pain.

Paintings in this collection are born from my continuous learning of black history and the desire to bridge gaps between the ommission of narratives and enlightenment.