Richard Mark Rawlins

GHOST FACE KILLA OMINOUS REINDEER MAN IN JA.

2011-12-29T05:39:00.000-08:00

Got a number of cool gifts this Christmas...among them was a pair of Reindeer antlers and a "blinking" red nose. I also got a cool book from my friend Dave on iPHONEOGRAPHY. So I started exploring the antlers from the perspective of someone who is gradually coming around to really liking Christmas once again. Don't ask...long story, but anyways I give you..da Ghost Face Killa' Ominous Reindeer Man Series...in Jamaica...all shot on iPod. ENJOY.-rmr.

Darryn Boodan:

hmm the reindeer is not an ingeniousness animal to the Caribbean space

wearing the antlers and red nose... almost becomes a carnival costume... reminiscent of a blue devil on jouvert morning...

this work attempts to subvert the traditional visual vocabulary we posess, by imposing a re imagined concept of an imposed tradition thereby reclaiming it

there is also an innate sadness about the work..in each frame we get a sense of isolation and despair..this surely is an ode to "Rudolph the red nose reindeer " the lonely reindeer that nobody wanted to play with... the object in the photos seems to resign himself to the fact that there will be no "santa" to come to his rescue and ask him to guide his slay tonight...transforming him into a new social creature ..no....he is doomed to a world of sadness

Soft Box Studios End of Season Exhibition 2011

2011-12-17T21:52:00.001-08:00

Soft Box Studios End of Season Exhibition 2011 from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

Work available by the following artists: Mary Adams, Al Alexander, Tessa Alexander, Ashraph, Eddie Bowen, Christopher Cozier, Ken Crichlow, Embah, Nicholas Emery, Janice Derek, Susie Dayal, Karen DeVerteuil, Rex Dixon, Carlisle Harris, Jackie Hinkson, Harold jiminez, Kwynn Johnson, Greer Jones, Paul Kain, Mazola, Alicia Milne, Wendy Nanan. Kenderson Norray, Bunty O’Connor, :isa O’Connor, Garvin Pierre, Richard Rawlins, Clayton Rhule, Rachel Rochford, Nadya Shah, Shalini, Irénée Shaw, Shastri, Singh Brothers, Christine Warrington, Adam Williams, Gregory Williams and others.

Soft Box Gallery • softboxgallery@gmail.com

disillusions: Gendered Visions of the Caribbean and its Diasporas

2011-12-15T20:22:00.000-08:00

click here to download

disillusions: Gendered Visions of the Caribbean and its Diasporas, catalog online now at artzpub. Edited by Tatiana Flores. 180 pgs fc. Essays by Flores and Michelle Stephens with interviews of the artists by Allison Harbin and Tashima Thomas. Design by Richard Mark Rawlins. Download now.

3 DEVILS and a REDMAN

2011-12-15T05:08:00.000-08:00

Some pics of my work and a few others during the hanging of the SOFT BOX GALLERY end of season exhibition and open house 2011. I'm honored to be in such esteemed company.

Susie Dayal

Wendy Nanan

Ashraph

Rachel Rochford

disillusions: ART CATALOG DESIGN SNEAK PEAK

2011-12-15T03:36:00.000-08:00

Design for "disillusions" show eVite curated by Tatiana Flores

2011-11-16T02:25:00.000-08:00

Artists in the Exhibition

Maria Elena Alvarez (Venezuela) Nicole Awai (Trinidad) Firelei Baez (Dominican Republic) Holly Bynoe (St. Vincent and the Grenadines) Melissa A. Calderon (U.S.A/Puerto Rico)Vladimir Cybil Charlier (Haiti) Asha Ganpat (U.S.A./Trinidad) Jessica Lagunas (Guatemala) Rejin Leys (U.S.A./Haiti) Sofia Maldonado (Puerto Rico) Ana Patricia Palacios (Colombia) Sandra Stephens (Jamaica)

Concept: This exhibition brings together work of women artists from the Caribbean and its diasporas that addresses themes related to gender. It defines the Caribbean as an expansive space that is not limited by national borders or island geographies. Grouping work by women from Anglophone, francophone, and Spanish-speaking backgrounds, it shows how common themes emerge from the experience of gender despite regional differences. The exhibition title “Disillusions” refers to the tendency of the work in the exhibition to shatter illusion-whether pictorial or otherwise-by engaging in formal fragmentation, embracing discontinuity, and obfuscating meaning. These artists refuse to present a world that is whole or coherent; instead they acknowledge that contemporary experience is fragmented, subjective, and often incomprehensible.

PHOTOGRAPHY: Woi Bashment in Town

2011-11-10T14:21:00.000-08:00

Dancehall influence has crept or been dragged across the world even as far as Japan, often kicking and screamingly so by force. Barbados is no different. Their version" BASHMENT" is portrayed here through a series of pictures I shot in Bridgetown.

Getting Schooled in Bashment

Like everything else there are some prerequisites for a good "BASHMENT" poster: a) women in a variety of poses b) men doing gansta roll with a gang-sign fingers or rastaman greetings c) a pit bull or two in the poster d) some bajan twang spelled out for good measure. Enjoy.

women in a variety of poses

gang-sign fingers or rastaman greetings

THE BEST OF KEITH SMITH- IN BOOKSTORES NOW!

2011-10-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

THE BEST OF KEITH SMITH
Making An Art Out Of Newspaper Journalism

A PUBLICATION OF THE TRINIDAD EXPRESS
TRINIDAD & TOBAGO

How else to put it? We are not in a good way. A book of Keith Smith’s columns will reveal that he has not only tracked the changes of our time; but, that in crafting a voice in which to speak, valuing community and welcoming the genius of the place, he has left us the template for the native writer as a liberating presence that, along with what all good writers offer, will inspire the self-belief, compassion and authority that we have always needed to embrace the promise we cannot surrender.

Earl Lovelace

Edited by Donna Benny Lyndersay
Book Layout and Cover Design: Richard Mark Rawlins
356pgs BW • FC Cover • 5.375 x7 ins

SEASON 1 ARTZPUB MINUTE

2011-10-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

Artzpub Films is proud to present ARTZUB/Minute. A series of one minute minuteMENTARIES covering pretty cool people doing pretty cool things in this pretty cool moment. It’s video content on the move. Enjoy.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 6 IVAEK ARCHER from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 5 HOLLY BYNOE from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 4 RODELL WARNER from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 3 BRIANNA McCARTHY from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 2 CHARLES CAMPBELL from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

ARTZPUB MINUTE: EPISODE 1 MARIEL BROWN from artzpubfilms on Vimeo.

COMING NEXT YEAR. CARNIVALE OF THE ABSURD.

2011-10-15T05:01:00.000-07:00

DRINKING FROM THE SURREAL POOL

2011-09-18T07:09:00.000-07:00

INWARD HUNGER

2011-08-19T14:18:00.000-07:00

Invite designed for Mariel Brown's 3 part documentary series

on Eric Williams, Trinidad's first Prime Minister.

Rockstone & Bootheel: The Catalogue

2011-07-22T03:31:00.000-07:00

I designed the Rockstone & Bootheel Catalogue over the course of the latter part of last year and now 13 months later like an Einstein baby (he reportedly stayed in a little longer explaining, in part his superior intellect), I have to say it was worth the wait.

Printed in Singapore by CS Graphics the 160 page hardcover 8.5" h x 6" w book with DVD, is just brilliant.

Contact Real Art Ways directly to purchase your copy:

REAL ART WAYS
56 Arbor St
Hartford, CT 06106
860.232.1006
fax: 860.233.6691
info@realartways.org

Rockstone & Bootheel curated by Kristina Newman-Scott and Yona Backer, included works of 39 artists from the West Indies and the diaspora, focusing on artists from the Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, and Trinidad & Tobago. The Show ran from November 2009 to March 2010. The exhibition featured work by 39 artists: Akuzuru, Ewan Atkinson, Lawrence Graham Brown, Renee Cox, Christopher Cozier, Blue Curry, Sonya Clark, Makandal Dada, Annalee Davis, Khalil Deane, Zachary Fabri, Joscelyn Gardner, Marlon Griffith, Satch Hoyt, Christopher Irons, Leasho Johnson, Ras Kassa, Jayson Keeling, O’Neil Lawrence, Christina Leslie, Simone Leigh, Jaime Lee Loy, Dave McKenzie, Wendell McShine, Petrona Morrison, Karyn Olivier, Zak Ové, Ebony G. Patterson, Omari Ra, Peter Dean Rickards, Nadine Robinson, Sheena Rose, Oneika Russell, Heino Schmid, Phillip Thomas, Adele Todd, Nari Ward, Jay Will, and Dave Williams.

Christopher Cozier

Leasho Johnson

Wendell McShine

Karyn Olivier

Ebony G. Patterson

As Newman-Scott explained, “the works were juxtaposed in conversation with each other to reveal the complicated, changing, and sometimes conflicting stories of first and second generation Anglophone Caribbean artists, challenging common assumptions about West Indian culture and artistic expression.”

Jamie Lee Loy

Akuzuru

Hungry for Words- Nicholas Laughlin on Karyn Olivier

Interviews with filmakers Ové and Govan by Melanie Archer

The Dancehall Story, Exploring Male Homosexuality by Donna P. Hope

5 poems by Muhammad Muwakil

To the Wirl(World) by Annie Paul

That is Mas by Nicholas Laughlin

All pix for this post courtesy: Rodell Warner

IT'S A WRAP...GOTCHA.

2011-07-14T13:21:00.000-07:00

DRACONIAN SWITCH ISSUE 16

2011-07-10T14:18:00.001-07:00

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

Here's the long-awaited 16th edition of the design e-Zine, Draconian Switch, in which we give you a peek into the wildly successful Global Africa Project, which recently concluded its run at The Museum of Arts and Design in New York. Look out for the work of our own Trinidadian crew, the Alice Yard collaborative.

Enjoy!

http://www.artzpub.com/content/draconian-switch/issue-16

Crossing Boundaries

2011-07-02T06:29:00.000-07:00

Pleasure Blog Commentary on GOTCHA by Andre Bagoo

On Richard Rawlins Gotcha at Alice Yard, Woodbrook, Port of Spain

Once more, art confronts us with the intersection of ideas.

Richard Rawlins' recent exhibition, Gotcha, raised questions over the place of modern practices of design within the traditional realm of art and painting, of politics and art and of installation work and non-traditional formats for creating design and for expression (specially designed lapel buttons are part of the work).

The work, recently shown at Alice Yard, comprised a series of politically-themed paintings ( are any paintings not concerned with politics?) displayed in various spaces within the Woodbrook backyard space. The work used simple designs (are there such things?) which pushed quite close to iconography (the artist plans a series of limited edition prints to be sold at a later event in a few months time).

White elephants, dangling flies that become pianos, non-performing arts academies and lego politicians all suggest what we all know: the realm of politics is one big megee.

"The joke is on you. It always was," Tracey Hutchings remarks in a limited edition monograph published by Rawlins to accompany the show (sections of which are featured here). The joke, Hutchings notes, functions "politically, mentally, economically, and maybe even spiritually". This at once playful and dark, sincere and whimsical: a kind of therapy that focuses more on triggering dialogue ( what part of life does not?)

ME

2011-07-01T13:17:00.001-07:00

Artist mixes social commentary, fun in Gotcha!

2011-06-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Prolific artist, magazine editor and designer, Richard Mark Rawlins, brought his disciplines together for his latest exhibition, Gotcha! The result was a show of accessible, graphic and attractive works, marrying social commentary with a spirit of fun. The show was launched at Alice Yard in Woodbrook on June 24, and featured thirty paintings, mainly acrylic on various surfaces, as well as a colorfully designed monograph, featuring more of Rawlins’ explorations, with an introduction by artist/designer Adele Todd, a short piece on the “meggie” concept by writer Tracy Hutchinngs, an essay on art and politics by Andre Bagoo.

The Gotcha! concept was built around the “meggie”, which Rawlins describes as a “ubiquitous and lasting element of our T&T culture, our picong.” Hutchings describes it as “the five fingered fart, the fowl bottom” that taunts: “the joke is on you.” Through this picong prism, Rawlins looks at contemporary life in T&T, even commenting on politics in pieces like White Elephant, which shows a pale pachyderm floating in the air above the NAPA building. Although unified by its tongue-in-cheek tone, the show was divided into three distinct spaces at the Alice Yard venue, showcasing different media, style and subject matter.

One showed limited edition “meggie” prints and wearable buttons; another featured the more political works, while the main area showed images of “the people,” with pieces like Baddest by the Standpipe—rendered on an old-fashioned washboard—and Beetham, showing a mass of folks and a burning tyre. A repeated motif was faces with exaggerated eyes and lips. Rawlins says these signified two aspects of Trini culture at which our people excel: “macoing” and talk. The show also featured a screenprint collaboration with artist Suzanne Nunez. Gotcha! also featured live entertainment.

Courtesy: The Guardian

http://guardian.co.tt/lifestyle/2011/06/30/artist-mixes-social-commentary-fun-gotcha

MEGEELICIOUS PHOTO COLLABS...with cool peeps.

2011-06-28T04:44:00.000-07:00

Megee, Arnaldo JJ 2011

Megee, Richard M. Rawlins and Rodell Warner, 2011

GOTCHA NIGHT 2 ART and MUSIC PIX

2011-06-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

pix courtesy: Rodell Warner and Brianna McCarthy

Singer/Songwriter Nandelle Cameron

Nandelle Cameron and Dave Williams in The Alice Yard Box

Dancer/Choreographer, Dave Williams in The Alice Yard Box

GOTCHA extended at Alice Yard

2011-06-24T22:35:00.000-07:00

MONDAY 27th, 6-8pm and WEDNESDAY 29th, 6-8pm

GOTCHA: NIGHT 1

2011-06-24T07:58:00.000-07:00

pix courtesy: Rodell Warner and Brianna McCarthy

RMR MONOGRAPH

BADDEST BY THE STAND PIPE

WORKS IN THE ALICE YARD HABITAT SPACE

WORKS IN THE ALICE YARD HABITAT SPACE

ARTISTS LUIS VASQUEZ and ALICIA MILNE, ALICE YARD, LOWER ANNEX

DOCUMENTARY FILMAKER MARIEL BROWN

THE BOX

DWAYNE LEWIS and SKYE HERNANDEZ

MEGEE BUTTONS

ALICIA MILNE IN THE ANNEX

ARTIST CLAYTON RHULE IN THE ALICE YARD ANNEX

STICK A PIN IN WE

GOTCHA: INSTALL SKETCHES

2011-06-23T02:24:00.001-07:00

Lower Annex Gallery, Alice Yard.

The Box and the Habitat

NANDELLE CAMERON to peform at GOTCHA in ALICE YARD

2011-06-21T11:21:00.000-07:00

Get this... not only will there be a Choreographed piece by Dave Williams on the second night of the show, but the

performance night will also now include Nandelle Cameron, singer/songwriter. Nandelle Cameron started writing songs and playing the guitar at the age of fourteen, with a particular interest in the alternative rock and roll sound. After receiving a track and field scholarship, she moved to Jefferson City Missouri in 2006. At Lincoln University, she was able to juggle the rigours of being a musician and student athlete. Producing and arranging her unique sound since 2003, she brings an eclectic mix of alternative fusion to the ear. She is currently working on an EP and rocking the underground circuit!

Gotcha is on at Alice Yard this Thursday 23 and Friday 24th, from 7pm.

click for more info: https://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=233404723339532

MEGEE PRINTS IN PROGRESS

2011-06-18T18:19:00.000-07:00

A collaboration with artist and friend Suzanne Nunez.

SNEAK PEEK

2011-06-17T09:03:00.001-07:00

YUH JUST GET KETCH...

2011-06-14T07:14:00.000-07:00

A KETCH YUH AGAIN

Now come to the show.

MEGEE.

2011-06-14T04:20:00.000-07:00

MEGEE NOTES. TRACY HUTCHINGS

The joke is on you. It always was. Once again your intellect was laid bare in favor of an old joke. One you didn’t ask for; one you didn’t believe in but here it is any ways – MEGEE – five fingers curled into a fart, a fowl ‘s bottom just waiting for you to turn. Turn nah. Turn. Nah. Give yourself over to the base humor, because the joke is on you. Ah ketch yuh. Just laugh. You got caught again. Factor in a plea for the insane as you look for a different result again and again and again. It’s only a MEGEE. Politically, mentally, economically, emotionally and maybe even spiritually. It’s the laugh you didn’t ask for. The joke is on you, you see.. MEGEE!

[incidentally -aren’t there 5 parties that make up the People’s Partnership? A real megee eh?]

GOTCHA. RICHARD MARK RAWLINS 2011

2011-06-10T20:39:00.000-07:00

GOTCHA.

RICHARD MARK RAWLINS 2011

THE WORX. A MIX OF DESIGN AND ART. BLURRED LINES.

These new or rather recent works 2010 -2011, explore a number of themes and explorations. One movement of paintings are a raw kinetic exercise not focused on technical proficiencies but rather a desire to convey an energy that I expend while painting. There is a recall and a sense of capturing what my body feels doing these pieces, so that the end result is very much a non premeditated surprise. The second movement involves my constant record of our T&T life politically, new ‘saviour’ Prime Minister and all that hoopla that goes with it. Another , albeit an early and interactive exploration examines the ‘megee’ as that unique Trinbagonian nuance. The show gets it's title from this actually. I constantly try to do something new and always get you again and again. The media blurs the lines of design and art and take the forms of paintings, a limited edition monograph and tee shirts, plus at this point maybe even some suprises.-RMR

KIBII WI KONI THE EVENT BROCHURE (peek)

2011-06-02T03:02:00.000-07:00

Recently I was given the opportunity to design a Brochure/Keepsake for Surinamese artist Marcel Pinas. I'm a big fan of both the man and what he stands for, and the work. The brochure is 4 inches wide by 17 inches high closed and then 8x17 inches open, FC, 20pages. KIBII WI KONI, the Event. The brochure features some of his projects and an 800 word edit of a much longer essay by Artist Christopher Cozier. The project is currently being printed in Suriname.

BLUE CARIBBEAN MASTHEAD

2011-03-03T11:50:00.000-08:00

Blue is the first magazine in the Caribbean that exclusively promotes the region’s finest scuba diving destinations. It also highlights other aspects of ecotourism and indigenous culture, taking readers off the beaten path and into some of the most marvellous and mesmerising sights in this special area of our Blue Planet.

WRESTLING WITH THE IMAGE CATALOG DESIGN

2011-01-24T13:43:00.000-08:00

There are just those projects that you really love to bits working on as a designer this is one of them. Published in conjunction with the Art Museum of the Americas, The Organization of American States and Draconian Switch, 'Wrestling With the Image', is the Official Catalogue of the exhibition opened on January 21st and running through to May 10th 2011 at the Museum of the Americas, Washington. This 108 page downloadable catalogue designed by Richard Mark Rawlins features the artists works, and essays by curators Christopher Cozier and Tatiana Flores.

go here to download it:

http://www.artzpub.com/content/special-publications/wrestling-image

DRACONIAN SWITCH in the GLOBAL AFRICA PROJECT

2010-12-14T23:13:00.000-08:00

THE GLOBAL AFRICA PROJECT RUNS UNTIL MAY 15TH 2011, AT THE MUSEUM OF ARTS & DESIGN, NYC

SNEAK PEEK

2010-12-14T23:02:00.000-08:00

Coming in 2011 at the Alice Yard shop. Chinese Worker washboard cup.

COCO DANCE FESTIVAL 2010

2010-11-23T18:00:00.000-08:00

Design for the Contemporary Choreographers Collective.

Choreographers’ Collective - nicknamed COCO - is a group of independent choreographers - Dave Williams, Nicole Wesley, Nancy Herrera and Sonja Dumas – which offers performance support for choreographers working in unconventional ways in Trinidad and Tobago. COCO will host its second annual dance festival from Friday, November 26th to Sunday, November 28th – this time in a series of unusual spaces.

Great little film on Alice Yard

2010-11-07T16:19:00.000-08:00

I was happy to be involved in the production of this piece. I hope it resonates with you the way it does for me. Alice Yard really means a lot to me. I did four projects there this year. It's just something you have to experience... a great space to PLAY. Humungous kudos to Mariel Brown for all her Alice Yard archival footage and tying this all together in one coherent edit.

BOB & CHRIS for Children

2010-11-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

bob & chris books for children bw logo

bob & chris books for children colour logo

I recently designed a logo for Robert and Christopher Publishers children's line of books.

Here it is. Look out for BOB & CHRIS books for Children soon. The logo represents a re-imagining of the current Robert and Christopher logo, which is an angry boar's head. The kids line has a cute baby boar.

check them out on FACEBOOK

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Morvant-Trinidad-and-Tobago/Robert-Christopher-Publishers/164319023595769

Speaking Engagement: Art, Design and Architecture in Our Space - DCFA One Day Symposium

2010-10-08T08:16:00.000-07:00

photo courtesy: Arnaldo JJ

I recently sat on the panel Design in Our Space with Moderator: Ms. Lisa Allen Agostini, Designers Adele Todd, Robert Young and Lesley Ann Noel as part of The Visual Arts Unit of the Department of the Creative and Festival Arts (DCFA), Faculty of Humanities and Education, The University of the West Indies (UWI), St. Augustine hosting of a special one day symposium, entitled Art, Design and Architecture in our Space: New Perspectives on Art and Design Practice in the Caribbean held at the Institute of Critical Thinking, UWI, St. Augustine on October 6th 2010.

About the event:

This event evolved from the 2009 UWI Sculptural Project, which was spearheaded by artist Dean Arlen and proposed the installation of seven sculptures designed by several young Trinidadian artists. One of the seven sculptures was installed on the St. Augustine campus and has subsequently opened the discussion around public art and design in Trinidad & Tobago. The 2010 symposium aims to initiate a dialogue on issues that affect the practice of art, design and architecture in Trinidad & Tobago and the wider Caribbean.

The following is my abstract and downloadable presentation...

Abstract: Unconventional Visibility and Innovation

In the absence of more contemporary art ventures like the former CCA7, and the current Alice Yard artspace (initiatives which created space and worked towards developing a discourse around contemporary art) and the predominance of conventional galleries (where emphasis has been placed on more traditional forms of work such as portraiture, landscapes and abstracts, in fact, anything that will sell quickly) the emerging contemporary artist has had to become a self –facilitator in the quest to present work here in Trinidad and Tobago.

In a sense because the emerging contemporary artist is denied access to the more conventional artspaces ( which cater to a small and select art buying public) he is presented with an opportunity to engage a much wider public; both in terms of the kind of work created and where it is exhibited. The recipe for this could be to break from the norm, appropriate unconventional spaces, and engage the wider public while recognizing that the wider public may not typically be an art viewing one. To accomplish this goal INNOVATION is required.

In addition, the ‘working contemporary’ artist as a valuable individual in society should find a way to make his contribution or some component of it ownable as a desirable object. The value of this is two-fold: 1) the discussion of the idea presented goes beyond the boundaries of the show, 2) there is genuine commercial viability to what the artist does.

Presentation:
Mac users click here to download a Keynote version of my presentation:
ZIP FILE http://artzpub.com/alt/pdf/ART%26DESIGnprez.zip
PC/Mac users click here to download a Powerpoint version of my presentation:
ZIP FILE http://artzpub.com/alt/pdf/ART%26DESIGnprez.ppt.zip

The RMR store launched!!!

2010-09-08T10:49:00.000-07:00

http://www.zazzle.com/rmraffinity*

A Unique Perspective on the...Chinese Worker

2010-09-04T04:40:00.000-07:00

By Nigel Telesford

Amidst all the controversy and criticism surrounding the construction of the National Academy for the Performing Arts (NAPA), one man looked above and beyond the noise and drew inspiration from the moment.

"While this building was under construction," said artist, Richard Mark Rawlins "I would observe the Chinese workers every morning as I dropped my daughter to school at Bishops (Anstey High)… and one of the things that struck me was the way in which they evolved during their time here: At first there was a uniformity to them that made them all appear to be the same, but as time passed I began to notice subtle differences in their bodies and their behaviour that inspired me and inspired the work."

The "work" in this instance is one powerful image, used to create a collection of items emblazoned with this and similar images and entitled "Chinese Worker". It began as a simple photograph taken by Rawlins and evolved into a collection of enamel cups, five washboards, one painting and an "artist's statement" in the form of a short video documentary.

"There are so many things that we utilise every day that are made in China," said Rawlins. "Like the enamel cups, which I got at a Port of Spain store by the way, which is another Chinese-owned shopping centre… So I started examining the brand, made in China, but in a different sense and at that point, the worker icon was born. I didn't only want to capture the entity, but also the identity of these people, who weren't here before and suddenly appeared on our landscape in large numbers and even as they transformed the landscape, they were themselves also changing and becoming in a very real sense, Trinidadians."

No stranger to the Arts, Mariel Brown modestly lists her contribution as simply "helping him out" by "shooting the interview". However, she is listed on the short as Director of Photography and was busy keeping track of stock and payments on opening night.

"I think it's thoughtful and smart," she said "I think he's a brilliant designer and I love the way he can reduce an image to its purest form. I think if he plays his cards right it's going to be a wonderful brand which is definitely identifiable: the Chinese Worker. I'm very excited by it!"

As the Creative Director of a well-known advertising agency located in St Clair, Rawlins is accustomed to exploring his artistic passion and hopes to provide a unique perspective on the Chinese worker.

"While all the talk was going on about the Chinese people and all the things they were building and all who felt they shouldn't be here and they shouldn't be building this or that," explained Rawlins, "you had these people who came here to do a job and send money back home to their families. And that was very important to me because we are a welcoming people, that's what we do; we bring you into our house, we feed you, we take you out and make sure you have a good time and this is just my way of marketing the moment before something happens and all the Chinese workers suddenly go back home and we forget that they were ever here.

"As a designer I try to marry media and what I want to say in a way that's resonant and I wanted to find some way to include components which were really Chinese in the work so I could speak to them, for them and about them at the same time. So this is my little way of paying homage to them and the contributions they have made to our society and of course, Alice Yard is the place for contemporary art, so I had to showcase the work here."

"Chinese Worker" began on Thursday and ended yesterday at Alice Yard, 80 Robert Street in Woodbrook. On Friday night, celebrated choreographer, Dave Williams performed a special piece to enhance the exhibit, alongside a performance from Bajan trombonist, Jomo Slusher and Moyenne pianist, Chantal Esdelle.

At first glance, the exhibit seemed quirky and almost laughable. However, after viewing Rawlins statement and thinking for a moment about the phenomena of the Chinese worker and the impact he has had on our society, like a Chinese proverb: it eventually makes sense. Me likee!

For more information on Rawlins and his work, log on to: www.richardmarkrawlins.blogspot.com or www.artzpub.com

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/sunday-mix/A_Unique_Perspective_on_the_Chinese_Worker-101948858.html

CHINESE WORKER ARTIST STATEMENT on Vimeo

2010-08-31T08:45:00.000-07:00

ARTZPUB FILMS
Artist: Richard Mark Rawlins, Director of Photography: Mariel Brown, Editor: Tracy Hutchings, Still Photography: Richard Mark Rawlins, Damian Libert and Mariel Brown. Special Thanks to Damian Libert, Marlon Darbeau and Rodell Warner, ALICE YARD, Christopher Cozier, Sean Leonard and Nicholas Laughlin. Made in Trinidad. 2010

RMR WeNews segment

2010-08-30T11:36:00.000-07:00

Thurs 26th Aug., 2010, 3pm

CHINESE WORKER NIGHT TWO

2010-08-28T07:40:00.000-07:00

The Art and Music Event

Chinese Worker's second night in Alice Yard was supported by Dancer/Choreographer/Erotic Artweek Organiser/Bohemia artspace instigator Dave Williams doing an exploratory piece on the comparitive similaties between the Chinese Migrant Worker in Trinidad and Tobago and the African Slave as well as a Musical performance by young Barbadian Musician Jomo Slusher (on his journey to Berkley) accompanied by Musician Chantal Esdelle.

Photography: Rodell Warner • Performance Animation: Damian Libert • Location: Alice Yard

THE WORK

Dave Williams

Jomo Slusher

CHINESE WORKER OPENING NIGHT

2010-08-26T21:45:00.001-07:00

Alice Yard Video Space

Alice Yard The Box

RMR opens the show

RMR with Calypso Historian Ray Funk

Artists Lupe Leonard, Paul Kain and Kwyn Johnson

RMR with Artist Darren Cheewah

RMR with his girls

RMR with Design Artist/Creative Director Marlon Darbeau

ABOVEGROUP crew

CHINESE WORKER INSTALLATION VIEWS

2010-08-26T21:35:00.000-07:00

Photography Rodell Warner

RMR INTERVIEW ON CNC3 EARLY MORNING SHOW

2010-08-25T18:21:00.000-07:00

Artist Richard Mark Rawlins interviewed on Paolo Kernahan's Early Morning Talk Show, Wed Aug 25, 2010, about the CHINESE WORKER SHOW at Alice Yard.

THE CHINESE WORKERS GO UP

2010-08-24T16:16:00.000-07:00

Alice Yard 80 Roberts Street, Woodbrook, POS.

check out the event page here:
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=747915395#!/event.php?eid=146129548747547&ref=ts

RICHARD MARK RAWLINS: CHINESE WORKER PROMO

2010-08-16T19:55:00.000-07:00

Read articles and see videos spanning an entire year about the Chinese Workers in Trinidad, here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=146129548747547&ref=ts

OBSESSED WITH CREATING

2010-08-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

An Interview with Outlish Magazine. Read it all here:
http://www.outlish.com/richard-rawlins-obsessed-with-creating/

RICHARD M. RAWLINS: Girls of Murray Street

2010-07-31T05:30:00.000-07:00

Detail: 'Girls of Murray Street at Bohemia'

Last year I began a series of paintings, a follow on to my earlier work at EAW2009 Space for Rent, entitled Girls of Murray Street. In it I depicted prostitutes of the Murray and Roberts Street Woodbrook tracks. The 'Murray and Roberts' is the biggest of the pieces, it portrays a street walker that looks very young but very prematurely old at the same time, it is layered by a poem I wrote 'Out by the Park', in which I depict a likely conversation between a slightly crazy hustling woman and a patron. The series was never finished though as other projects and explorations took precedence.

Detail: 'Murray and Roberts' at Bohemia

In my studies of these women, I've always found them to be so young but wise in the years of the street hustle. Barely 18 and 19 years old and in the hustle. I sought to portray the stark bending surreality of their times. Depending on the halflight and the steet lamps they actually appear bigger in size and age than they really are and at the same time older than they look at first glance.

Detail: 'Roberts and Carlos'

This realization dictated the style of painting. I sought to capture in almost bright flat childlike colours the disturbing portraits of these women, not to pass judgements but rather create a sense of dark humour that would actually stir a disturbance in the viewer. Is this voyeurism okay?

Detail: 'Roberts and Alfredo'

The flat depthless painting style was also inspired by the works of the behind the bridge sign painters of the Beetham and Piccadilly area of POS. It is reminiscent of the bars of George Street and such areas with their crudely drawn women wearing polka dot panties and bras alone on the walls.

EAW 2010 viral video: Darryn Boodan

poem: Out by the Park

When we out here in the night

is like roach running in the night

Up and down we shaking we ass

Watchin’ yuh up in yuh window

Glass

Hey baby yuh want ah pluck?

Two hundred to suck, three

Fo’ a fuck…

So wha? We going o wha?

The pussy real good daddy.

It tight and it hardy.

Come nah!!! Aye, yuh kno I like u.

Is out here I fuckin’ out here

hustlin’ some blue.

Is two fucking chile and

sick mudder to mine.

Is only three hundred

fo’ a fuckin’ wine.

Come leh we go

by the hospital quick

yuh know yuh custom

and I want dat prick.

Oh god come quick

nuh dem police outside

Dem ha’ all we gyul

running to hide

Thanks eh. Thought yuh

did change yuh mine.

Ah like yuh hat. I fine it nice.

Ah does see yuh out here…

Wid that woman. She yuh wife?

But wait why dem lil gyul getting on so

Up down like classless hoe

Not me. Not fucking me.

I doh go wid everybody.

Me? I is 21. I is a big ‘oman.

Doh watch meh slight. I is

A big ‘oman.

Look dat one dey she ent easy...

Nanny and ass beat so much

She flappy

Dat one dey another hoe

cyah suck prick, is only

a show

She. Oh god she. By dat pile ah leaf.

She is a cunt. To besides she’s a

Fuckin’ tief.

You ever eat dat Kfc? Yeah dat new one…

Ha. Original or Spicy oil. Ha. Dat funny.

Hold on eh…Wha..I cyah hear yuh. I not by

de park. Yuh’s a imps or wha’. Doh fuckin’ call

meh. Yeah I by the club later.

Dis fuckin’ phone. I cyah hear shit.

Yuh kno anything bout dem dual sim

phone and dem. No…ok.

Wha…ah talking to much?

But wait…Oh god oh. Doh stop here nah

Dem bitch and dem hate meh.

Dey go beat meh cunt. We ain’t going

again? Look I go stop talking. No…ok.

Just doh drop me by the park nuh.

Oh god no. I go give yuh back the money.

What keep it? Or keep a hundred.

I did thought yuh did say keep all.

Well sorry eh lover.

Look yuh want meh

Number?

No… Well aight den…

Hey baby yuh want ah pluck?

Two hundred to suck, three

Fo’ a fuck…

Is the work easy to digest? No. Is it funny? Somewhat. I think that we wear our hypocrisy like a favourite jockey shorts/panty that we don't want to take off. This work explores a bit of that hypocrisy.

RICHARD MARK RAWLINS: EAW SHOOT

2010-07-24T15:25:00.000-07:00

So for EAW 2010 I did photographer duties. It was good to get back behind the lens. Hadn't done it in awhile. But when I do I really like shooting at night.

Shooting outside Bohemia for the EAW guerilla fashion show 'Dressed for Work' was great. Light changing all the time, everybody shooting click click clit clit clax, flashes going off, car lights changing the atmosphere, light spilling between people and from the surrounding businesses, me adjusting settings moving from flash to no flash, zooming with the moving models, the Red Bull truck pumping 'I'm a be', slow shutter speeds, nakedness all round...ahhhhh. According to Photographer Rodell Warner: I see yuh real like yuhself dey daddy!

YES I DID.

RICHARD RAWLINS: THE BAG PROJECT

2010-07-15T17:42:00.000-07:00

click on pictures to enlarge

In the context of genetics, the utterance “good jeans” may mean one thing, but within the sphere of of our local vernacular riddled with its creative use of the “double-entendre” the concept takes on a whole different meaning. These images, while ripe with individuality and humour show us something else about ourselves. The Jeans act as more than just a fashion project experiment, they have become an arbiter of sameness and commonality. The Jeans, that great unifier…is one of our common denominators.

Look out for the bags again at Thursday 22nd July at the EAWTT 2010 event Fashion on the Street. The bags are for sale. For sale inquiries contact me at rmraffinity@yahoo.com re: JBAGZ. Many thanks to the models in this online-project: Maro, Ayo, Chris, Boods, Chee, Badman, and Dave. Many thanks to Mariel Brown and Marlon Darbeau for their support. Many thanks to Ivaek Archer for encouraging me. Many thanks to all my friends that willingly donated Jeans and picong at the start of the project. Much thanks to Rodell Warner my Photographer and of course all of you for coming!!! GO OUT AND RECYCLE SOMETHING!

THE BAG PROJECT TEASER

2010-07-12T04:03:00.000-07:00

I've embarked on a new project to run only online. THE BAG PROJECT. I've always felt that a "pair of jeans" could have been the one single unifier in society. Every body has Jeans. Hell I've even seen vagrants with Jeans on.

The exercise has thus far yielded six bags three of which are shown here in this post. The others will be revealed in detail in the online installation rolling out this week or maybe next week. The bags will of course be for sale.

Inspired by one of my illustrations the Jeans project isn't my foray into the world of fashion design. Instead it's my experiment with recycling, and learning to sew. All of the material comes from old donated Jeans. I have Mariel Brown to thank for having the patience to teach me to use my sewing machine.

I have Sean Thomas of the Jazz Alliance of Trinidad and Tobago to thank for the opportunity to show my bags at his fine event "Jazzup The Runway ". More on this event over at www.artzpub.blogspot.com later today. The Bikinis are by Charlene Bramble, Off the Hook Designs. Photography: Rodell Warner.

Writer Lisa Allen-Agostini interviews RMR

2010-06-24T06:10:00.000-07:00

Showing his mind

Designer, artist and photographer Richard Rawlins opened his one-night-stand exhibition Button Project at Alice Yard, a contemporary art space on Roberts Street, Woodbrook, on May 21. The exhibition was a collection of message buttons with pithy, amusing and incisive statements about the then-current general elections campaign. Rawlins did an e-mail interview with author, editor and journalist Lisa Allen-Agostini before the show.

Lisa Allen-Agostini: What is the background to the show?

Richard Rawlins: The show is rooted in the work I've done over the last few years, particularly the political observations. Some of it started with my jeans art project in 2006, Speak UP, the others over time. Speak UP was the genesis of my visual documentation of our nuances and the way we speak. Life in general is a politik of sorts and hence some of the documentation naturally records that.

LAA: Are you trying to get people annoyed? Your statements are very provocative.

RR: Not trying to annoy anybody. I'm a bit sarcastic. I think I just tend to speak my mind. So I guess the illustrations are meant to be that voice in a visual sense.Too many times we want to speak and we don't. We always feel this need to just bite our tongue. We are always biting our tongue for something and we haven't benefitted really in our society from doing that. We have lots of things that we don't necessarily need and not a whole lot stuff that we do need. And when we do speak it's for entertainment’s sake, for the propagation of nonsensical issues. In this silly season people are leaving their homes to go to meetings at seven in the night and hear picong rather than voice an actual concern about many of our societal issues. By next Tuesday it will all be over and we'll be back to liming. I really don't think I'll annoy anybody, actually. I might amuse them and they will move on.

LAA: Why buttons? Jersies and posted bills are, to me, more iconic of T&T's elections campaigns than buttons, which seem more a US phenomenon in politics. Do you agree and, if so, was the choice deliberate?

RR: The button was a deliberate choice. You would expect the T-shirt or the handbill and with elections on I didn't want to suffer clutter by media. We don't do buttons here really. And we love foreign. We do foreign well but don't do ourselves. We want to be something else. The button as the medium is the way I poke fun or apply a little humour to that notion. It's funny to me. So I just thought I would do the buttons. It was easy to produce the work and it was small enough to be marketable and tempting. You could pin or pocket it and go. No fandango.

LAA: As art, how would these be displayed—and what are the prices of the pieces?

RR: The buttons will be part of the overall installation at Alice Yard that has been designed to utilize the entire space. I have Sean Leonard, chief architect of the Yard, and Marlon Darbeau, my fellow designer, to thank for helping to figure things out. The buttons will be situated in the Yard's box display area and supported by two videos, one actually to be projected across the street outside the Yard, and one in another part of this unique space. I'll be displaying 99 buttons and they'll cost $30 each; four for $100; $495 for a full set of 33 designs.

LAA: Are you normally political or is this a special excursion for you?

RR: I think life is political. We are all political. We negotiate the vagaries of governance every day with our kids and co-workers and relationships. It's not an excursion. This work actually runs alongside two other projects that I'm planning for this year. One of these projects isn't political at all. Whimsical, yes, but not political.

LAA: The iconography in some of the pieces is more like fete posters than election campaign artwork. Were you intentionally making a parallel between the two?

RR: Yes, I was. We are a "PARTY" culture. We do that well. We see and accept anything that goes with liming. It's easy. We digest that. It's simple. I work in advertising. The fete poster is a great medium, especially the screen-printed ones out of Arima.

LAA: What are you hoping to achieve by the show, or is there an intent?

RR: Entertainment, inspiration, to find a voice and to create work, or encouragement to just be more aware of our times. But really I want to interrupt your life long enough for you to have enjoyed a really good showing and come again.

Draconian Switch 12 is online!

2010-06-08T19:51:00.000-07:00

The new issue of Draconian Switch is online! It's got the strong photography of Rodell Warner, with writing by Andre Bagoo, Dave Williams, Tracy Hutchings, Indra Ramcharan and Mariel Brown. Issue 12 features the work of fashion designer, Robert Young, local rock icon Nigel Rojas, designer and artist Richard Rawlins, and the rapso group 3Canal. So feast your eyes and share the link with your friends. Enjoy!

http://www.artzpub.com/alt/pdf/drsw12.pdf

RMR Button Detail Slideshow

2010-06-05T10:55:00.000-07:00

Button Up - Dave Williams on Richard Rawlins

2010-05-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

This was possibly the last Friday that my friend, a confessed and unabashed PNM party supporter, would have under the existing governing regime. And maybe this is why he - graphic designer and artist, Richard Rawlins - chose to make his statement at this moment, so pregnant with possibilities and pessimisms.

The Button Project, an art-commerce event, unusual on the Trini artscape where artists are never supposed to be seen as having any commercial connection to their work, other than via red dots and well-spoken, well-commissioned, socialite gallerists. This project was independently staged and funded by the artist and pieces were designed and priced to go. From the price patches which were themselves larger than the actual pieces, to the volume discounts you could receive with the size of your purchase; the commerciality was a gloriously refreshing affirmation of independence, creativity and sustainability.

The night air was wet and humid with the pound and echoes of passing music trucks proclaiming in soca verse and rhythm "We love you so, we take good care of you only the PNM understands', the chorus of this year's PNM. In this dewy political ether, Richard's illustration-clad buttons offered for sale in the small box room at the Alice Yard seemed to resonate sentiments that were in stark yet entertaining contradiction to this patriarchal mantra of patronage; and even to his own political alignment.

The project features, in miniature, satirical commentaries that he had been cathartically rendering over the past two years, like a conversation between he and himself - to me, an illustration of a deeper rift between him and his faith in loving systems that were "taking care of us". Now, on Election Day, today, I wonder if he has reconciled himself between his own genetically engrained political camaraderie, and the voice of dissent of his protestative, but humourous work. I wonder if he has yet cast his vote, and I wonder of the agonising moment he would spend in that tiny box.

-Dave Williams

View photos in greater detail here, in the 'buttons' flickr set, and see additional photos from the night of the event.

Additional photos and posts to be added very soon.

-RMR