John Obafemi Jones: The Universe is Calling

M.A. Dworkin

St. Croix - Some artists look to capture terra firma and the mountains. Some artists seek to ride the waves from the sea to the sky. Some invoke the past. Some portray the present. John Obafemi Jones has set his sights on mapping out the inner workings of the human soul. He seems to reach out into the darkness of the universe that surrounds us, and takes it upon himself to express, with each of his paintings, the God-given right for everyone of us to give and receive the gift of love. Not an easy task. But this towering, statuesque figure of a man seems to pull it off with every stroke of his brush.

His one-man show, I’m Still Here, that just opened at Sonia Nahar Deane’s Cane Roots Art Gallery in Christiansted, is a tour-de-force of art, love and understanding. It is a deep dive into what makes each of his subjects tick, what makes each of his scenes jive, portrayed exquisitely by a collection of the most wild, vibrant, brilliant display of colors, that have the ability to reach out and speak to the viewer in the most intimate, yet unabashed way.

In Mr. Jones When Women Speak, Mixed Media, it is unclear by their stance, by their body language, whether they are arguing or having an in-depth discussion. What is clear by their closeness and expressions is that these women have a great deal of respect for each other. They know the lay of the land of the world they occupy, they have conquered it, and they will stand their ground to keep it.

In Caribbean Blues Joint, Acrylic, Paints Sticks on  Canvas, and St. Thomas, Acrylic, Fabric, Paints Sticks on Canvas, this is part of a stunning jazz-blues collection that Mr. Jones has presented over the years. The musicians are wild, in some cases animalistic, as they play their instruments and beat out a sort of rites of passage for their culture, for their life… Do not stand in their way. They blow hot and heavy. They own this stage. They own their world. And they will defend it with some of the greatest music you have ever heard.

With Amina, Acrylic, Fabrics, Paints Sticks on Canvas, here lies the heart of the exhibition. An extension in sorts of his famous series Bamboula Dancers, but this particular painting brings more in the way of African colors into the background. Yet, it no less captures the viewer’s imagination and inquisitiveness. What has life dealt this woman in white, this mysterious, blacked-out face, that has brought her to this moment of serene beauty and calm? How has she survived in a world filled with calamity and excess? Or is she a ghost of the past?

Of course, the piece-de-resistance of the exhibition, Where Spirits Wear Color, Acrylic, Fabric, Paints Sticks on Canvas, is John Obafemi Jones digging deep into the madness of this world and the world that lies beyond. His use of colors here screams out insanity, but in a somewhat surprisingly, orderly manner. The happy but crazed masks, the plantation faces playing instruments, the faceless hat carrying a body dripping with Yemaya colors, exposing ghost-like hands, shocks you into another world, far, far away from the one you have ever known. It seems like Carnavale, but it is Mr. Jones plumbing the depths of existence, and in so doing, exposing the startling soul of humanity. It seems like a vision borne from a madman, but it is no less a vision torn from the pages of our past. It haunts us. It cries out. It is troubling no doubt. But it is a snapshot of the nether world that exists far beyond life as John Obafemi Jones sees it. And yes, it is not difficult to take issue with the possible reality of his vision. But, afterall, no one has come back to tell the tale.

Cane Roots Art Gallery is such a treasure. It stands as an oasis for the arts in a world that seems to try harder every year to disavow the importance of the arts in our lives. Sonia Nahar Deane is a wonder. She leads a devoted troupe of patrons to the promised land of cultural, historical, and artistic recognition, displaying within her stark white walls what is important for Crucians to see, to understand, to believe. 

The night was another win-win at Cane Roots Art Gallery, it ran the spectrum from ‘Way Kool’ art, to the warmest relations, to Mekiel Reuben’s hot, hot Sax.

I’m Still Here runs through February 27th at Cane Roots Art Gallery, 24 Company Street, Christiansted. 340-718-4929.