Jack Bell Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Lavar Munroe. 'Being the son of a seaman and having experienced trauma at sea at a young age, my curiosity and fear of succumbing to the ocean has been a lingering concern since I was a boy. Through time, this concern has evolved from the personal and targeted to the wellbeing of others, especially those using water as means of vast journeys. In this intimate body of work, I explore voyages and terror at sea. A focus on sea travel, and its relationship to ancestry, migration and...
Jack Bell Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new paintings by Lavar Munroe.
"Being the son of a seaman and having experienced trauma at sea at a young age, my curiosity and fear of succumbing to the ocean has been a lingering concern since I was a boy. Through time, this concern has evolved from the personal and targeted to the wellbeing of others, especially those using water as means of vast journeys. In this intimate body of work, I explore voyages and terror at sea. A focus on sea travel, and its relationship to ancestry, migration and refugees is a key theme that runs throughout the exhibition.
The history of sea voyages is vast and continues to play out in many societies today. In 'A Voyage Fit for a King' I pay homage to the trans-Atlantic slave trade of yesteryear, using Goree Island’s 'Door of No Return' as the setting of this work. I have visited this space several times and each time, I am filled with emotion and empathy for my ancestors who were victims of the slave trade. An empty canoe drifts in the background suggestive of demise.
Today, the smuggling of human cargo via sea continues in the form of illegal migration and refugees fleeing by sea in hopes of a better way of life elsewhere. For many on these dangerous voyages, elsewhere is never discovered."
