THINGS THAT MATTER

Paradise is where you choose to find it

 

The sixteenth century Venetian artist Jacopo Tintoretto was the first artist to be known as painter of light. His dramatic masterpieces with perhaps exaggerated chiaroscuro effects (contrasting light and dark) stand out magnificently among the paintings of his contemporaries. The English landscape master J.M.W. Turner (1775 – 1851) – the first landscape expressionist – was also widely known as the Painter of Light. Turner was simply brilliant and he exploited unconventional techniques to produce almost miraculous effects – with both watercolours and oils. The Truner exhibition at the Tate last year in London was a sensation. And a few weeks ago I described Arthur Atkinson as our own “Painter of Light”, for his intimate understanding of light in our natural environment.
 
Photographers, of course, it must be said, have the unique ability, unmatched by the most brilliant and rapidly working artist, to capture light from moment to moment – in its infinite variety and wonder. Many, like Ansel Adams, have earned justifiable fame in the pre-digital age, with the most demanding photographic technique – black and white – exploiting the monumental landscape of the Rockies, for example. And this is where photography becomes an intimate, emotional response to things we love, and provides a dramatic, unforgettable canvas for immortalising the most moving moments. Photography is therefore a fine art of unlimited versatility, and the digital technology creates infinite possibilities for creativity. 
 
Chris Alleyne deserves the title “Photographer of Light”. He’s not the only Bajan photographer who loves light, in its multitude of manifestations. I proudly own splendid “reflections” by Ronnie Carrington, Manty Cooper, Stefan Bynoe and others, chosen for the impact of light, but I confess to an almost visceral response to so many of the images of Chris, both in his first book “Into the light: a selection of images of Barbados”, and in his splendid new sequel, “Almost Paradise”. 
 
In reviewing “Into the light” I wrote of those photos: “… many almost sing to you, and you wish you could hold the picture in your mind, relive it, magnify it on your wall and never let it go … sheer beauty on every page.” This love affair with light continues – from the soft sunrise over the sea to the sun burst in the Atlantic waves; from the intriguing light on seductive “Details” to the glorious burst of sunsets, however hackneyed and overdone sunsets may be. (One of his most brilliant sunsets on the East wall of my bedroom complements the sunrise every morning!)
 
The new book – with the title “Almost Paradise” and the sub-title and theme “Paradise is where you choose to find it” – will be enjoyed and re-digested by everyone who loves Barbados. Chris sees the beauty everywhere, from the light on the barbed wire fence to the scandalous tragedy of the decaying Wakefield House, owned by the bankrupt CLICO. And I have too many favourites to mention, but perhaps Liquid Art deserves the gold medal! 
 
It’s arranged in six chapters: Historic Barbados, the Coastline, Sunrises and Sunsets, Details, Details, Speightstown, and The Country. What’s fresh and stimulating about his approach is the new angles he uses and the nuances in subjects ever so familiar that they surprise you and hold your attention. His fascination with sunrises and sunsets is obvious, and you may think these are hackneyed subjects, but what sunsets! These are no ordinary skies but explosions of grandeur. Liquid Art, Liquid Art 2 and other seascapes are surreal, magical, awesome, out of this world, and they make me want to watch even more skies – which already fascinate me to the point of obsession!
 
A book like this is a genuine treasure, both for photographers and artists and for those without cameras or brushes, but who love this land of ours...
 
 
This land of pastel tints and compromise, 
Of huddled tenantries and garden villages 
Of rum shops and churches, slums and postcard views 
This land … 
(Frank Collymore)
 
My heart fills with joy and inspiration and a sense of beauty and majesty whenever I stand on Hackleton’s Cliff or Cherry Tree Hill or Gay’s Cove, and the same gracious God whose presence we feel in these beautiful places allows the skills of a This land of pastel tints and compromise, 
Of huddled tenantries and garden villages 
Of rum shops and churches, slums and postcard views 
This land … 
(Frank Collymore)
 
My heart fills with joy and inspiration and a sense of beauty and majesty whenever I stand on Hackleton’s Cliff or Cherry Tree Hill or Gay’s Cove, and the same gracious God whose presence we feel in these beautiful places allows the skills of a brilliant photographer to provide vicarious joy every time we will open the pages of this splendid book. Thank you, Chris.
Incidentally, while Chris seems to spend his life wandering the by-ways of Barbados, and hours at the sea shore, he apparently finds time to operate a fascinating website Cariblist ( HYPERLINK “http://www.cariblist.com/” \t “_blank” www.cariblist.com) which is the most widely-used real estate listing company in Barbados at least, if not in the southern Caribbean. It hosts real estate listings from most of the agents in Barbados, and individuals as well. It’s been active for the last 15 years. 
 
Almost Paradise is available directly from Christ Alleyne at 231 3002 or by email contact at HYPERLINK “mailto:chrisalleyne.bb@gmail.comchrisalleyne.bb@gmail.com, or at the Hastings Farmers’ Market opposite Hastings Rocks next Saturday. I understand the price is $90 (Barbados) or for a little more in a slipcase version, while Almost Paradise and Into the Light are available as a pair in an elegant slipcase or as a special 50th Anniversary gift set in a handmade mahogany box (limited numbers, so call early!) In any format, they make the perfect Cropover gift for our returning friends from the diaspora!
 
Speaking of books, this is the perfect time to announce that the second edition of The Barbados Carolina Connection, by Warren Alleyne and Henry Fraser – a beautiful, lavishly illustrated much larger version, being published by Miller Publishers – will be off to the printers shortly and back in time for Independence celebrations!
Professor Fraser is past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI and Professor Emeritus of Medicine. Website: profhenryfraser.com Thank you, Chris.
 
Incidentally, while Chris seems to spend his life wandering the by-ways of Barbados, and hours at the sea shore, he apparently finds time to operate a fascinating website Cariblist (HYPERLINK “http:// www.cariblist.com/” \t “_blank” www.cariblist. com) which is the most widely-used real estate listing company in Barbados at least, if not in the southern Caribbean. It hosts real estate listings from most of the agents in Barbados, and individuals as well. It’s been active for the last 15 years. 
 
Almost Paradise is available directly from Christ Alleyne at 231 3002 or by email contact at HYPERLINK “mailto:chrisalleyne.bb@gmail.com” chrisalleyne. bb@gmail.com, or at the Hastings Farmers’ Market opposite 
Hastings Rocks next Saturday. 
 
I understand the price is $90 (Barbados) or for a little more in a slipcase version, while Almost Paradise and Into the Light are available as a pair in an elegant slipcase or as a special 50th Anniversary gift set in a handmade mahogany box (limited numbers, so call early!) In any format, they make the perfect Cropover gift for our returning friends from the diaspora!
 
Speaking of books, this is the perfect time to announce that the second edition of The Barbados Carolina Connection, by Warren Alleyne and Henry Fraser – a beautiful, lavishly illustrated much larger version, being published by Miller Publishers – will be off to the printers shortly and back in time for Independence celebrations!
 
Professor Fraser is past Dean of Medical Sciences, UWI and Professor Emeritus of Medicine. Website: profhenry fraser.com
 

Barbados Advocate

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