On May 5, 1494, during Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the Caribbean, he set first sight on the island which would become known as Jamaica. The indigenous Yamaye people named the island Xaymaca which translates to "Land of Wood and Water" or "Land of Springs" in English due to the abundance of natural life-giving resources. For the next 500 years, the country would undergo colonisation on a massive scale. It resulted in the extinction of the indigenous people, forced labour, plague, torture and murder of countless slaves imported from the African mainland, and the eventual socio-economical mismanagement that lead to the incident of mass poverty and an urgent need for social reform today. I am not an activist, nor do I have any political affiliations. I am a student of the history of our world and the mechanisms that underpin it. As an illustrator, I use art solely as a conduit for communicating my interpretations. Enjoy.

Libertad is an illustration that reminds colonized peoples to defend the freedom and liberty their ancestors fought hard for with all our might! I realised that many modern post-enlightenment replublics like the United States of America, France, Mexico and Peru, have numerous artworks that represents that nation's crowing achievement of defeating oppressive powers. Works such as the French masterpiece Liberty Leading the People (Delacroix), Washington Crossing the Delaware (Leutze), The History of Mexico (Rivera) and the History of Peru (Bravo) are among those works that signify moments in history when the proletariat took control of their destinies. The most torrid aftermath of colonialism is that even today, some societies are still piecing together the shattered remnants of their past culture. These patriotic artworks were created to instil national pride and be constant reminders to natives of who they are. Hence, I decided Jamaica needed such a work, to assist in this rebuilding.

The background is painted in desaturated versions of the primary colours to represent the warm tropical sunset. Sunset is the chosen time of day to indicate the end or twilight of one phase in our history and the coming of the next. I used horses to represent freedom while alluding to the story of the Biblical Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse that provided additional reference for the end of the colonial empire. The horses are all stallions while the riders are women to signify the woman as the carriers of the future generations of this nation. These women like Lady Liberty in Delacroix's masterpiece are both protectors and nurturers of Jamaica's national identity. The main rider is a Yamaye woman to represent the almost forgotten original peoples of this land as our ancestral culture. The flag bearer is an Afro-Caribbean/Maroon woman who carries our future signified in the national flag "The Gold Cross" with our "Coat of Arms" as the flag's finial. This same flag is also caught in mid-transition from Union Jack to The Gold Cross to further the coming of a unique Jamaican culture born from both peace and terror.   

Several other scenes can be found throughout the illustration, that with their own individual stories add to that general idea of liberation. To the furthest left a once enslaved Afro-Caribbean man disarms a solider and prepares to exact revenge on him using his own tool of oppression, the whip. The far right of the illustration shows another soldier who has an arrow drawn by the main Yamaye rider, trained squarely between his eyes as both soldiers look on in terror. A red brick wall representing the colonialist blockade on traditionalism divides the scene between the fight for freedom of the past on the outer wall, and present Jamaica on the inner wall. The main stallion breaks that wall to signify freedom and the moment of emancipation, while also trampling on the third Red Coat in the scene to show the literal "fall of the empire". A young girl of mixed ancestry positioned in front of the left inner wall is an allegory for the free Jamaicans of today. She is an appropriation of the young boy standing beside Lady Liberty in Delacroix's painting. Her axe in hand is used as a tool in defence of freedom and also industry, a blue tunic to show she is no longer has to wear the old garments of slavers but can dress in her own clothing. Lastly, her other fist is raised in the air as a reference to the strength and power of a united culture.  

This illustration is an amalgamation of the European Romantic movement along with Afro-Caribbean aesthetic sensibilities to inform the chosen style. I felt that such a work needed to propel audiences to a time and space that while had not occurred in a literal sense, but the idea lives on in all our memories. I don't believe that Afro-Centricism on its own is an honest representation of the Jamaican identity in art. Our history is made up of more than just the African. Indigenous peoples had lived on this island for 6000 years before colonialists arrived, and some of that culture had survived through the Maroons. Jamaica was also colonised for about 100 years after by the Spanish, although most of that history was destroyed by later British occupation. Jamaica's official language has also been English due to British colonisation for almost 400 years, and that is a significant part of our history. Consequently, European culture although most may disagree is a significant contributor to our national identity. I developed this style as a fusion between the African, European and Asian as the major contributors to our present culture and to play on those same deeply rooted aesthetic tastes. 

Libertad ultimately represents an ideal, where the oppressed belong to no particular race, ethnic group, gender, social or religious identity. Chinese, African, Yamaye, Indian all become mixed into one identity as the true meaning of "Out of Many one People. Thank you very much for reading.

Artist: Leighton Estick

Medium: Acrylic paints

Dimensions: 4 ft x 6 ft.

Support: Canvas