Hinkson Carnival murals return to Fisher Avenue

Artist Donald "Jackie" Hinkson is back with updates of his Carnival-inspired murals in the 2022 edition of his street exhibition.

Game of Words is the theme of Hinkson’s second Carnival showcase, which opens today, on Fisher Avenue, St Ann’s where he lives. The expanded display of Carnival-inspired depictions will remain mounted along both sides of the street through March 4.

Once again, members of the public are invited to walk or drive by between 9 am and 7 pm, mindful of the need to observe relevant pandemic protocols of social distancing, mask wearing and sanitising, as far as possible.

In 2021, when official Carnival celebrations were cancelled, Hinkson’s murals, ranging 55 to over 100 inches, made the day for a wholly local yet diverse audience rallied by the untold, unifying force of an unrivalled Carnival tabanca, stated a release on the exhibition. Of the thousands estimated to have visited, many trekked from well beyond the artist’s long-standing residence at Fisher Avenue home to what may now be a newfangled pandemic-Carnival ritual hosted by the 79-year-old, with the kind indulgence of his neighbours.

Over the past year, Hinkson was able to extend by some 100 feet the Band of the Year mural he began two years ago. This time with support from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Arts, the public art project continues to explore carnival imagery, mainly metaphorically, and to reflect the artist’s response to events as they affect society.

“I find I’ve been increasingly compelled to convey feelings evoked by my observations of the dramas of daily life in this way. And I’m still astonished by not just how well last year’s showing was received, but the way it was experienced by people of all walks," Hinkson said in the release. “I think the magic is in it being held on the street, which, as Trinidadians, we know instinctively is intrinsic to the experience of Carnival.”

With a career spanning six decades, Hinkson has worked across a range of media and an even wider range of subjects. In the early 1980s Hinkson began producing mural-size works portraying and celebrating aspects of his social and physical environments.

Hinkson has also produced four books on his life and art. His over 100 sketch pads have been inscribed by Unesco into TT’s Memory of the World Registre in 2010. In 2011, the University of the West Indies conferred on him an honorary doctorate. In 2019, he received the Chaconia Medal Gold.

Visitors are advised to park near the top of Fisher Avenue and around the small park.The artist is committed to being on site daily 4-6 pm to answer questions and will certainly be around at other times. Schools are encouraged to contact him at jackiehinkson@gmail.com to arrange visits for small groups of art students accompanied by a teacher. To learn more about Hinkson’s 2022 Game of Words street exhibition, and the artist’s work in general, follow him on his Instagram and Facebook pages.