Law officer embracing spirituality and his blackness in his art

DWAYNE GRANT, as a police officer, is serving and protecting the Jamaican people, but, he’s also preserving and telling the checkered stories of black people in his art, art that is provocative, revealing, “bold”, and embracing black spirituality.

In a conversation with The Gleaner at an arts showcase – Kevarney K.R’s ‘In Spirit and In Truth’ – earlier this year inside the Olympic Mini Gallery in Papine, St Andrew, artist Dwayne Grant revealed that he is also a police officer. That revelation changed the line of questions about balancing doing art that espouses black spirituality and policing.

Before that he was talking about how his grandmother with whom he grew up, who would “constantly remind” the family of their Maroon heritage. He grew up learning about the rich Maroon culture, “because of that I tend to have been like, doing a little reading here, and there, even the croton, my grandmother’s yard was full of that”, he said. The croton plant is a popular Revival symbol.

And, there were also signs and symbols of Revivalism, such as the ‘cream soda’, all around, but his family members were not Revivalists; some amount of Catholicism was in the family ethos. His neighbours, however, were “heavy in Revivalism”, and he would observe the things they would do and say.

Grant was surrounded by Revivalism all his life, but he was not a Revivalist. And while some people would shun it, he was intrigued by it. Even now, where he works at certain checkpoints, there is a Revival church nearby.

“I will be directly here. I’ll be in the space of the practices and the beats of drums … I see all of it in real time,” he shared. “As an artist, I have never been the type to shun any form of cultural practices, heritage or anything to do with personal beliefs, so I am more to appreciate the curious, look at it, and be like, what can I take from these persons.”

Curiosity engendered research, and the asking of questions. Asking produced answers, answers about his cultural identity, his African story.

Grant has been involved in painting all his life. Yet, it was only last year when he participated in the first show put on by Kevarney K.R. that he became seriously interested in the professional side of painting. And his black spirituality was depicted in his pieces.

“I’m more trying to connect with persons than may come across as a bit oppressive to the outside person … I try to be authentic, so even in the communities when I come across Revival churches, I will stay back a little longer, observe the practices, observe the dancing, observe the beat of the drums,” he explained.

At this year’s show he had four pieces, ‘Ghetto Dreams (African Awakening)’, ‘Nana The Healer (Obeah Woman)’, ‘Moon Shine Darling’ and ‘Sankofa Call’, on display, all depicting elements of black spirituality, identity and ancestry.

Not mainstream

Grant is preserving his black spirituality and culture in his art, which can be time-consuming, and demanding. He wants to paint, to paint even some elements of our culture which some people regarded as not mainstream, but he must go to serve and protect the people. He has to find the time to do both.

“Well, over overtime you realise that it’s bigger than you, so it can be a case where you see that you’re called for a higher purpose in the sense that I’m a part of the system, and I see where the system goes out of its way to ensure that its people are protected, as well they should be protected,” he said.

“It’s a duality of spirits, you know, it’s a duality of spirits, a duality of identity. It clashes a lot as you can see, as you’re very restricted in the sense that you’re not so much about free spirit … but there is still that time for yourself … that time to have a voice … even in a sea of a lot of unknowns you know you still have to be that voice that resonates with familiarity energy … and find a way to connect.”

But, there is another element. For Grant, art is a stress-reliever, as his policing job is a very stressful endeavour, in which he has to deal with much “despair, emotional turmoil” and other depressing things. In his art he loses himself from reality, painting pictures inspired by his self-identity and black spirituality.

“It’s a very chaotic field, so if you don’t find your peace and your centre, it’s going to just sweep you up, take you away, and you know you may never see yourself again. So, identity is a very necessary thing to be grounded in, and I find that with recent philosophies regarding identity and Maroon heritage and all of that, I tend to tie that into the work as well,” he shared.