“There’s a diverse cross-section of people and things that attract me and keep my attention here in Trinidad, and I reflect that in my work. Their quirkiness and other idiosyncrasies you cannot figure out always keep me engaged because I want to learn more. Something needs to be eluding me for me to stay engaged with it.”
—Che Lovelace
Much of Che Lovelace’s rich body of work is influenced by his life and upbringing in Trinidad, drawing inspiration from visual and cultural traditions such as the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival. Lovelace’s repeated engagement with the Carnival as a subject invites the viewer to reflect upon the varied experiences of the festival, rather than a homogeneous event. By capturing the unique atmospheres of each scene, Lovelace’s paintings emphasise the relationship between the traditional practices of the Carnival and the individuals participating.
“Che is the scene-shifter: The focus is the human form—no mere representation of Carnival characters. Well-known figures with their own traditions are not shut down by their familiarity”
A core visual element of the Carnival is the costumes of traditional and familiar characters which carry symbolic meaning to the history of the event. One such character is the minstrel, whose costume includes a white painted face, white gloves and a tailcoat in reference to the American minstrel caricature. The present work is a study of a figure in the 2008 painting The Jeremy Twins, which depicts two Carnival participants dressed as the minstrel character. Lovelace captures the figures in a moment isolated from the festivities, each holding a dark umbrella in their gloved hands which frames their heads, accentuating their white face paint. The vibrant yellow hue of their jackets cuts through the muted tones of the background, a decision evident in the tonal considerations of the present work. The playful costumes of the men appear out of place when contrasted with the mundanity of their umbrellas, and their detachment from the Carnival as they gaze out at the viewer, emphasising the existence of the costume and its role in the construction of characters. Lovelace transforms the scene from a representation of ubiquitous carnival characters to a revelation of the human figure beneath the costume, and their experience of the moment.
