Deborah Jack

when the evidence of our wounds was reborn as petals…

July 4 - September 2, 2010

The “evidence” series deals with the re/construction of spaces out of re/memory and the ephemeral quality of memory when applied to a tangible object such as the landscape. We move on through history with our man made efforts to forget but the land remains. The photos were all taken on St. Martin and seek to illustrate a moment that is fleeting like the tickle of a memory in waiting. The images of the red flowers of the Flambouyant Tree carry with them an inherent beauty as well as a past that includes rebellion, revolt and emancipation. The land for me is a keeper, a witness to the events that occur/ed on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten. It is silent. It is strong. It is both the site of trauma and healing. The Caribbean reality carries with is a constantly evolving dichotomy of opposites that coexist on a daily basis. Beauty and tragedy live together in an uneasy harmony but together nonetheless.

ABOUT THE ARTIST: Deborah Jack is an artist whose work is based in video/sound installation, photography, painting and text. Her current work deals with trans-cultural existence, memory, the effects of colonialism and mythology through re-memory. She has published two poetry collections, The Rainy Season (1997) and skin (2006). Her poetry has appeared in The Caribbean Writer and Calabash and has recited her work in the Caribbean, United States, South Africa and the Netherlands. Awards and honors include a Lightwork Artist-in-Residence, Big Orbit Gallery Summer Artist in Residence, a CEPA Exhibition Award, New York Foundation for the Arts SOS grant, and The Photography Institute-National Graduate Seminar Fellow. Jack is also a member of art collective the Evolutionary Girls Club. Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in the Caribbean, the United States, and Europe. Her work is part of the Lightwork collection, the Southwest Collection at Texas Tech University, the collection of the Island Government of St. Martin as several private collections. Deborah Jack is an Assistant Professor of Art at New Jersey City University. https://www.deborahjack.com/