The light, the heat, the smells, the sounds and the taste of the Caribbean are magical, especially to those who live in northern climates with long cold winters.
A few years ago in the Dominican Republic I saw an exhibition of the work of the Dominican painter Ricardo Toribio that showed me life on an island in a new light- a vision of a world surrounded by water where people danced in town squares and trees grew from thatched roofs. I quickly arranged to meet Ricardo to explore working together- I gave him five large photographic prints of images that I had made in the Caribbean and he immediately understood what I was envisioning – the combined visions of a photographer and a painter into one work of art- inspired by reality- but not constrained by it.
The moments of time frozen in these photo paintings start from reality- albeit a delightful, curious reality. Together we stretch this reality a bit- adding whimsy and myth as paint is added to the photographs creating a new and enchanted island, influenced by the magical roots of the Caribbean -but not limited by it.