PAST EXHIBITION
ALICIA BROWN
St. Ann, Jamaica
WHAT ABOUT THE MEN?
JANUARY 21 — MARCH 13, 2022
The context of the show is to create works that examine the notion of masculinity in present society, interrogating roles, responsibilities and expectation of males. This new body of work is a shift from Brown’s previous engagement with the female as the main subject of her practice. The impetus for this came about as a result of traumatic experiences that involved Brown’s nephew. Also, she became a mother to a son, this experience shifted her interest and the urge to focus and highlight men as vulnerable. Brown wants to bring to the forefront the challenges and suffering that men endure as a result of the pressure placed on them by means of culture and society.
Taking note of past narrative rooted in colonial domination of enslaved Africans and the deliberate separation of men from their family she wants to address the crisis of lost men who are distressed, crying for help and attention from a society that does not allow them to show weakness. Utilizing portraiture, Brown aims to capture intimate moments of family members to ponder the complexities of being. She hopes to activate and highlight the influences of the history of Caribbean slavery, cultural norms and social media as a form of contemporary system and their impact on present identity and masculinity. The pressure that males endure, the anxieties and sorrow/pain resulting from family separation and the ways they try to fit into spaces they inhabit.
