Frantz Fanon & the Pursuit of ‘the White Girl’ – #CCF

May 15, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Photo by Sølve Sundsbø

The objectification of the white woman immediately caught my attention. She was to be used: for sexual gratification, to fulfill a ‘ritual of initiation into “authentic manhood”’ (Fanon 52), to ‘de-racialize’ the black man. Wait…what? De-racialize the black man? Fanon’s socio-economic background meant a white partner would have gone a considerable way in establishing his status in society. As for me, while still an ignorant youngster, I always knew that the fairer a girl’s complexion, the prettier she was. It was a fact, but I didn’t know why—just like how Jeun Veneuse, as Fanon noted, didn’t know why he loved Andreé. However, unlike Veneuse and Fanon, I wasn’t acutely aware that there was a problem with my skin colour that needed correcting.

The above excerpt is from Ronald Williams’ review of the chapter ‘The Man of Colour and the White Woman’ in Frantz Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Tuesdays and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

Wangechi Mutu’s Family Tree – #CCF

May 7, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Wangechi Mutu, Try Dismantling the Little Empire Inside You, Ink, Mylar, pigment, photocollage with mixed media on Mylar and wall, 95 1/2 x 104”, 2007

Definitions have always been my go-to method for gathering my thoughts; when you define something, it becomes clear and finite, manageable and straightforward. It creates a singular approach to a topic. After reading Kristine Stiles’ essay Wangechi Mutu’s Family Tree in the stunning exhibition catalogue for ‘Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey’, I felt saturated by the full sensory experience- from Stiles’ words, to Mutu’s salient images, to the gorgeous, smooth matte cover of the book. So, I retreated to my comfort zone of definitions to decompress. The corner I managed to back myself into with this, is that seeking a tidy, singular trajectory for something which in itself embodies plurality felt inadequate, especially with the much wiser and nuanced voices in the essay colouring my interpretations.

The above excerpt is from Katherine Kennedy’s review of the essay ‘Wangechi Mutu’s Family Tree’ by Kristine Stiles in the exhibition catalogue Wangechi Mutu: A Fantastic Journey, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr – the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Tuesdays and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

The Cyprus Dossier 00 – #CCF

April 30, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

…By the time I reached the end of the journal’s 39 pages, I was floored. Cyprus, I thought, how can this be somewhere I know nothing about? While concepts such as enosis (union with Greece) and takism (in relation to Turkish support of partition e.g. separate Turkish state) are embolic of Cyprus space, these themes and motifs look all too familiar: an island divided between two nations (e.g. Haiti & the Dominican Republic and Sint Maarten & Saint-Marteen), identity crisis, colonialism, imperialism, corrupt politics, arts/cultural activism, historical brainwashing, the cultural memory of physical spaces, white supremacist ideology…nationalism.

The above excerpt is from Amanda Domalene Haynes’ review of The Cyprus Dossier Issue 1: Towards Free Thinking Cyprus, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr, the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Tuesdays and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

Thanks to the Cyprus Dossier for donating a selection of their issues to Fresh Milk as we approach the International Artist Initiated Project being organised by the David Gale Gallery in Scotland, in which both entities will participate. The event will be a part of the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme corresponding with the Commonwealth Games this summer.

Look Beyond What you See – #CCF

April 23, 2014May 20, 2015Leave a comment

Look at the nearest clock. With a lazy glance you see numbers, perhaps hands, a circle or maybe a square-shaped face. Pay closer attention and you may determine the time. Be even more attentive and you begin to appreciate the design of your clock face. Imagine the technology that enables the hands to move, the numbers to change. Everything that happens behind what you see gives you a better understanding of how that clock portrays time. Now, take this principle and apply it to your perception of life. This is the message of Sufi Master Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan.

The above excerpt is from Versia Harris’ review of That which Transpires Behind that which Appears: The Experience of Sufism by Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, this week’s addition to the Fresh Milk Books Tumblr, the online space inviting interaction with our collection in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room.

For new Critical. Creative. Fresh reviews every week, look out for our #CCF Tuesdays and see the good reads we have available at Fresh Milk!

FRESH Volunteers & the launch of Fresh Milk Books

April 16, 2014May 20, 20151 Comment

Fresh Milk is happy to announce that we have recently taken on three volunteers – Versia Harris, Ronald Williams, and Amanda Domalene Haynes – as part of a programme we are developing to activate and cultivate interest in the Colleen Lewis Reading Room (CLRR), while giving young creatives the opportunity to gain work experience with a relevant organization, promoting critical thinking and artistic production.

One of the major projects our volunteers will be initiating is our new online space for the interactive exploration of the CLRR, Fresh Milk Books. This Tumblr site will exemplify our motto – Critical. Creative. Fresh. – and act as a hub of activity to raise awareness of our enthralling, diverse and ever expanding collection, becoming a space to have fun with the knowledge and pleasure that reading – whether literary, visual, or otherwise – can ignite.

Photograph by Dondré Trotman.

In addition to re-blogging engaging content, each Tuesday one of our contributors will create a short response to a good read from the CLRR. These responses can be written, visual, audio, video – the only requirement for #CCF Tuesdays is that the text and its accompanying submission be Critical. Creative. Fresh.

The experimental approach to Fresh Milk Books reflects on another facet of the FRESH Volunteer programme; stimulating creative production. As well as the pieces generated around the material in the CLRR, we also want to give the volunteering artists and writers involved time and workspace to focus on their own arts practices in a supportive environment with their peers. We encourage Versia, Ronald and Amanda to use part of their time on the platform to transfer knowledge and skills to one another, bounce ideas, collaborate, and view this as an informal but focused chance to incorporate meaningful exchanges and working sessions alongside their volunteering duties.

About our Volunteers:

Photograph by Omar Kuwas.

Versia Harris

Versia Harris is a Barbadian artist living and working in Weston, St. James. She graduated from the Barbados Community College with a BFA in the Studio Art programme in 2012, with an award from The Leslie’s Legacy Foundation. She participated in her first local residency with Projects and Space in 2011. Within the past year she has completed four residencies, beginning with a local residency at Fresh Milk, followed by her first international residency at the Vermont Studio Center, and two regional residencies at the Instituto Buena Bista, Curacao and Alice Yard, Trinidad in late 2013. In her work, Versia tackles perceptions of fantasy in contrast to the reality of her original character. She uses Adobe Photoshop to manipulate her pen drawings to create the animations.

Ronald Williams

Born in Bridgetown, Barbados in 1990, multimedia artist Ronald Williams developed an interest in art from a very young age. His art education in the Barbados Community College’s Fine Arts program forced him to view art as a powerful cog in society. Currently, Williams’ work focuses on race and sociology, investigating how sports and the black athlete fit into popular culture. Ronald manipulates popular imagery to compose computer generated images, using digital collage to speak about a multiplicity of issues, i.e. society’s perceptions, stereotypes, fantasies and various nuances about the black athlete.

Amanda Domalene Haynes

Amanda Domalene is a creative writer, editor and emerging e-book publisher. She graduated from the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus in 2013 with a BA in Literatures in English (First Class Hons.). Amanda has had diverse experience with publishing companies, adopting the capacities of content co-ordinator, public relations & sales executive as well as writing and editing. Her postgraduate research interests include media literacy and popular culture, especially in relation to the socioeconomic development of the Caribbean region.