Brooklyn Museum: Exhibitions: Infinite Island: Contemporary Caribbean Art

Alex Burke (b. Martinique 1944; works in France). The Spirit of Caribbean, 2006. Forty-seven dolls; fabric and other materials, dimensions variable. Courtesy of the artist (Photo: Franck Girier Du Fournier)

Artist Statement

Working from memory and historical narratives has been a way to question my "collective memory," to summon the constituent elements of the Caribbean identity. I have tried to make that confused past become visible; I have placed objects together and created a world of odds and ends. That is the very characteristic of the Caribbean: building up on a field of ruins, fertilizing a field of corpses, patching things up, making treasure of nothing.

10 Comments

in this piece, i felt the signage did not accurately reflect the content of the piece. The piece evokes migration more than the slave block,hence the figures facing away from the viewer.

— Posted by Donna Murch

that is creative and we are one

— Posted by elias

I like how the dolls have a wide variety of colors

— Posted by Sarah

its cool

— Posted by von

I think that it is sad because that is actually what happened.

— Posted by David Dobson

I ADMIRE THE ARTIST BECAUSE HE MUST HAVE HAD A LOT OF FRUSTRATION BUT KEPT ON GOING AND WITH HIS ARTWORK

— Posted by Elena Dertwas

i like this particular piece because it reminds me of one of my favorite pass times