JAMAICA POP
Jamaica Pop explores the spectacle of fame in Jamaica’s entertainment industry. A fast-moving, controversy-charged arena where performers are made and unmade in full public view. In this series, I use the visual language of vintage comic books, hand-painted street signs, and dancehall party posters to capture the charged mix of humour, performance, and rivalry that fuels Jamaican pop culture.
These sources are more than stylistic choices. They carry their own histories, from the mass appeal and serial drama of pulp illustration to the immediacy and local authorship of street poster design. By blending them, I create images that feel both hyper-local and globally legible, reflecting how Jamaican culture constantly circulates between yard and foreign.
The works shift between celebration and critique. They spotlight figures whose presence has reshaped the cultural landscape from Lady Saw’s fearless dismantling of conservative hypocrisy to the viral rise and public collapse of Gully Bop, and the enduring influence of artists like Popcaan. Fame here is a layered performance of desire, survival, and self-definition, always at risk of being consumed by the same machine that created it.
Through bold colour and layered compositions, Jamaica Pop turns the energy of the stage into a painted arena, inviting viewers to question what it takes to hold the spotlight and what is lost when it fades.
Lawdamercy, Acrylic on Sommerset Cotton Rag, 50cm x 70cm
Sweet Kulcha, Acrylic on Somerset Cotton Rag, 50cm x 70cm
Unruly Youth, Acrylic on Paper, 70cm x 50cm, by Robin Clare
Controversy, Acrylic on Paper, 70cm x 50cm
Media Masters, Acrylic & Gold Leaf on Paper, 56.5cm x 38cm