When I was at school in the late 1970s, steelpan was part of our curriculum. We had to learn how to "beat pan" in Form One. We didn't know how fortunate we were to be exposed to our indigenous music. My generation grew up on pan. It was ubiquitous at Carnival time and from January to the end of February every year it was the soundtrack of our lives. .JPG)
Certainly we were told of the dramatic evolution of this music form; how it was born of oppression and a struggle for cultural supremacy. But by this stage it was so much a part of our lives, that I for one, certainly had no appreciation of the extraordinary genesis of this music form. At its heart it is the drumming of a nation. 
Social unrest and emerging nationalism in the late 19th and early 20th century provided a fertile environment for the development of the musical instrument that would come to symbolise our national identity. Most steelpan historians agree that pan was born of the strong African tradition of drumming that travelled with displaced Africans across the Atlantic. Drumming was recognised by the colonial government as a powerful force and was subsequently banned in the late 1800's. There ensued a battle for the very soul of Carnival. The French planters with their traditions of masquerade fought a cultural war with the emancipated masses who incorporated mimicry, lewd dancing, ribald revelry, and general "get-on-bad" behaviour as a way of making their mark on a new homeland and as a distinct "thumbing their noses" to the pretensions of the socially conscious upper classes. 
Ultimately Carnival as we know it today is the product of the rocky marriage of these social groups with influences from Indian and Portuguese indentured labour and the cocoa "panyols" from the mainland.Each wave of immigrants would bring their magpie offering to the Carnival..JPG)
Today Carnival belongs to all Trinidadians - each year it expands and breathes a healing breath into the nation's pysche..JPG)
Pan made it rudimentary appearance in the 1930's..JPG)
The first instruments developed in the evolution of steelpan were Tamboo-Bamboos, tunable sticks made of bamboo wood. These were hit onto the ground and with other sticks in order to produce sound.[3] Tamboo-Bamboo bands also included percussion of a (gin) bottle and spoon. By the mid-1930s bits of metal percussion was being used in the tamboo bamboo bands, the first probably being either the automobile brake hub "iron" or the biscuit drum "boom". The former replaced the gin bottle-and-spoon, and the latter the "bass" bamboo that was pounded on the ground..JPG)
By the late 1930s there occasional all-steel bands were seen at Carnival and by 1940 it had become the preferred Carnival accompaniment of young underprivileged men. The 55-gallon oil drum was used to make lead steelpans from around 1947.
The Trinidad All Steel Percussion Orchestra (TASPO), formed to attend the Festival of Britain in 1951, was the first steelband whose instruments were all made from oil drums. Members of TASPO included Ellie Mannette and Winston "Spree" Simon. .JPG)
Bunty's show opened at the Art Society in Federation Park on Tuesday night. I had taken these photos before but wanted to wait until the show opened before I posted them. Her work in these pieces is very exciting. Aptly titled "Between Worlds" she explores this theme on many levels. Bunty was, literally, between worlds when she was was working on this collection. With the decision to close Ajoupa's doors came unexpected freedom to express her creativity but it was also filled with significant grief. In her artist's statement she says: "Letting go of Ajoupa Pottery has been the hardest thing to deal with- like a death." She worked steadily on the collection over a period of 16 months beginning with Between Worlds (below).
There is a sense of magical playfulness in the pieces. Many are whimsical with a nod to Trinidad and Tobago's extensive folklore traditions but there is also a sense that Bunty is pushing herself to go below the surface, crossing another boundary to allow the subconscious to bubble up. In the piece below, the back side (not shown) of Between Worlds is a contrasting study in unbridled nature, a la Garden of Eden. The message is twofold; civilisation is but skin deep, an untamed, deeply beautiful world is always accessible through hidden doorways. But it is not necessary to over-analyse Bunty's work. The work is what it is and this is what makes it so powerful. 
One of the three Actors 
The Child.
allows the work to spread out and deeply exhale. She says "I made them all as they occurred to me and so they document my feelings and experiences during the time of making. Some are tongue-in-cheek, like Tea with the Arabs.......
... some funny, and some full of fear like the Gargoyles (Dengue Nightmare). I made this piece while Rory was ill with dengue fever in September - it was cathartic pouring out of all those fearful beasts."
"The Place Where Mikey Cipriani Crashed His Plane" is part memorial, part tribute to this as yet un-commemorated spot.
Bunty works out of her literal pottery barn. It is at once a quiet and serene place but it is also a place of activity with the presence of the big kilns in the background. The BBC radio rumbles along in the background while everyone works quietly.
On one of the work tables lie two large cannon ball fruit. Bunty is trying to propogate the cannon ball tree by seed. Because this is another passion; the propagation of trees. A large jacaranda tree guards the entrance to the barn and everywhere one looks there are large trees.
Bunty's own work change from show to show as her upcoming ouvre will illustrate. Visiting a Bunty show is always a joy because you can see where she has explored new territory. The work is never the same. 
To walk in the garden is a privilege. Bunty is doing tremendous work with seed collecting and propogation of indigenous trees. The family hikes regularly and much of her inspiration and creative spirit comes from this close connection with her landscape. She is surrounded by five acres of slightly undulating land that looks northwards up to the northern range and throws a backward glance to Tamana in the central range. 
And Rory, kiln engineer extraordinaire.
The patio that opens out onto the garden and which can be populated at any time with chickens, cats, dogs, grandchildren or an assorted mix of the above.
A calathea flower that I came across in Bunty's garden. Being sorrounded by such tropical abundance must have an impact on the creative process and Bunty's determination to channel this process and follow the artistic impulse represents the best of our spirit here in Trinidad.
And as if organic eggs were not impressive enough, here are her fresh healthy lettuce. YUM!
I consider myself fortunate to know Bunty O'Connor. She is a remarkable artist whose medium of choice is clay. She lives with her husband, Rory, on a picturesque ridge in central Trinidad known as Chickland which is found in the borough of Chaguanas. This has been their home for the last two decades and daughter Nan http://thingsivefoundinpockets.blogspot.com/ and her family still live on the family compound. Bunty pioneered a distinctive style of pottery in Trinidad that began with her Ajoupa houses in the 1980's. These Ajoupas (simple thatched Caribbean houses) were the beginning of an exciting business venture, Ajoupa Pottery.
The piece below is from an earlier show and is just one of the many pieces that dot the large garden.
The house is a world away from Port of Spain.
I had a really lovely day with them today. Bunty is putting together a new show that will debut at the Art Society in Federation Park on Feb 3rd 2009 and it was a chance for me to get a sneak preview of all the creative work that has been going on for the last sixteen months.
I am sure that these photos have been posted before but I wanted to remind myself how beautiful down -the-islands is at this time of year. The photo below shows Venezeula, a mere seven miles away. 
It is so strange to look at this continent and imagine that we were once part of this land mass. When looking at the maps of Trinidad and Venezeula, it's possible to actually see where the island slipped away like an awry jigsaw puzzle. Perhaps it would not be so odd if we shared cultural similarities but the language barrier is a major deterrent to the easy ebb and flow between the two states. But the tie to landscape is strong. It's difficult to separate the "them" and"us" when the land is almost the same.
The dolphins have become much more common in recent years. As children we rarely saw them but now we are fortunate to see them almost every time we go down. They will entertain themselves by running along the side of the boat and crisscrossing in front of the boat,
I am a dusk girl. It's my hour, the hour of the gloaming. And my favourite dusk day has always been Saturday. There's something about Saturday night unfolding that is magical. Especially when we are down the islands.
