A conversation on issues of representation of Caribbean subjects 

The exhibition Resisting Paradise, curated by Marina Reyes Franco, presents the works of three Caribbean artists of the diaspora: Deborah Anzinger (Jamaica), Leasho Johnson (Jamaica) and Joiri Minaya (Dominican Republic).

The powerful and subversive works on display explore how one can represent an imaginary space, although constructed and sold as a paradise outside of the Caribbean, especially in Western countries, in a reductive gesture that masks or even obliterates local populations, their culture, their subjectivities, and their bodies. 

How can we engage deeply with the complexity of this approach, beyond the initial shock induced by the artworks in the exhibition? How shall we understand the discourses and representations that are being addressed, resisted and responded to?

In these artworks, what belongs to the ''real'' Caribbean, and what arises from the imaginary of the other? Who is the other in this case? And of which Caribbean are we talking about? 

The dialogue between Dr Stéphane Martelly and Dr Eddy Firmin is intended as and effort to tackle challenging and complex works that deserve to be recontextualize by artists and specialists of the Caribbean. 

The conversation will be held in French. A simultaneous translation to English and Spanish will be assured by members of the team.