Monthly Archives: February 2010

Back from Paradise

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Little did we guess upon seeing this steep hunk of rock sticking out of the ocean that we were entering paradise. Saba was paradise. The scuba diving was fantastic, as we expected, but we didn’t know this tiny, beachless former volcano would be the most magical place we had ever been.

The people, all 1,400 living there, are friendly and helpful. The pace of life is beyond slow. Life is simple. There are no beaches, there are no bugs, and there are few tourists. The top of the island is rain forest, at about 3,000 feet above sea level, and is the highest point in the Netherlands. We did some hiking, but we didn’t make it all 1,064 steps to the top–we left that for next time.

It was a great break, and I came back full of focus and creative juice. So it’s back to the novel for me.

Buzz Buzz: Chris Ofili at Tate Britain

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If you haven’t heard, you have probably been living under a rock or on a remote island. Chris Ofili’s name is popping up everwhere, and the press coverage is certainly having an effect on me: I want to go!

Installation View, Tate Britain

Ofili is having a retrospective–which feels off to me, for a 41 year old whose work is evolving to already have a retrospective–at Tate Britain, and to mixed reviews of his more recent work. Since moving to Trinidad, he has begun experimenting with new forms and pared down medium. (To borrow a phrase, he has “cut the crap.”) Check out the video at the Guardian about the influence of the Caribbean on his work.

His more recent paintings are less flamboyant, minus the glitter and dung, etc. The curator Judith Nesbitt says to Culture 24:

“He says he’s doing more of the listening now, working in a more open-minded way, letting it be, waiting to see where it’s going to go.That’s one of the most exciting factors in this exhibition. He’s still a young artist. He’s got some way to go.”

Iscariot blues, 2007

Some of the buzz:

  • “At a beautiful and provocative Tate show, we see the artist and his elephant droppings in a new and improved light”– Times Online