Jammin my views on art, travel, worldviews ect.

I wanted to travel to Jamaica to see my family, enjoy the sunshine, eat some yummy food and just be home. However,  life had other plans, COVID-19  ruined my intentions to be home :-(. Nevertheless, I had my vacation days and needed to use them. So how about vacationing in my city, Prague :-). I decided to venture to all the places that I have never got the time to visit in Prague. The first place was the Lobkowicz Palace, I was one of the few visitors there, many of times in the different room I was alone, and so I got the opportunity to experience the authenticity of the palace and its art pieces without the bustling of the many tourists that often visit Prague. Some of the fascinating aspects I observed was how the  Lobkowicz family has retained its heritage for hundreds of years. This just got me thinking that if it wasn’t for slavery probably I would have been able to trace my lineage and have many stories passed down to me, as displayed in Lobkowicz Palace. Another ...

  It has been months since I have watched a movie in its entirety, at the suggestion of my dear sister I decided to watch the film Crazy Rich Asian. This movie has parallelled my life in a way I didn’t expect. The movie begins with a Singaporean family walking into a hotel trying to check into their accommodation, however, due to the prejudices of the receptionists, the family is not allowed to check-in. It is only after a phone call from the madam in the family, that it is realised that she is the new owner of the hotel. Why did these white nationals immediately assume that this Singaporean family was not good enough? The world is greatly flawed and all seem to have the notion that we are better than someone else, that a person should fit in a certain box and only in a certain box. White supremacy, discrimination and racism are a part of the greatest misconstrued ideas that entire our world experiences. A person, if they don’t fit into a box, has to prove themselves that they dese...

Many months ago I watched the Jamaican film, The Answer, starring Charles Hyatt, and thought it would be a great film to reflect on, being as it is a treasure from my island. With the various happenings in my life, the reflection was placed on hold, but now I see the reason why it has been delayed. The current black protests in America have (George Floyd killing) rung home the movie The Answer which features a young lad travelling all the way from England to find his grandfather and to find some answers to who he is as a black man and where he belongs. Everyone wants to belong, however living in a world of white supremacy has racism felt not only physically, but emotionally and mentally. How can we be born into a society where we as black women and men are hated and dumbed down before we ever get a chance to succeed. You see the young lad, Felix Cameron makes his way to the Macka tree community to find his grandfather Mas Jo. The grandfather has not had contact with his daughter(Felix’...

As the main focus of my blog has been on the artistic style of life, I consider at this moment how could I reflect on a moment such as this, the time of the Coronavirus Pandemic. A time when a virus has invaded our species and seeks to kill the most vulnerable, leaving in its path, destruction and pain. This virus is not a respecter of person, religion or race, an invisible enemy. This crisis reminds me of the movies, where there is some infectious disease, the whole world is infected and the race to save the human species begins, and where politicians and scientists are in a state of confusion as they try to combat the unknown. How is it possible to fight the wind as it throws its punches? Impossible, right? Sadly this is not a movie, but it is our reality, from supermarkets being flooded by anxious shoppers, hospital systems being overloaded, too many deaths, to leaders demonstrating their ability or inability to lead and protect their citizens. The world is in a st...

We try to understand, but is that really necessary to become sympathetic or empathetic to one's pain? This is the theme that underscored the recent documentary Self-portrait, based on the life story of the renowned photographer Lena Marie Fossen, who struggled with the eating disorder anorexia nervosa. Lena’s anorexia began at 10 years old, when she decided that she wanted to remain a child and not grow up, why she came to this conclusion was never addressed in the documentary. I think to some extent all of us are nostalgic to our childhood, a time of innocence, being carefree, being protected and no worries at all, perhaps in some way she wanted to hold onto this time. However, her decision to remain a child spiralled into 23 years of struggle with the disease and mental illness anorexia nervosa. As you see her child-like frame speak to the camera, you see in the same moment someone so strong but at the same time so desperately weak. Her thoughts are conflicted, a...

The  Gulliver Airship (DOX) I am pleased to have been given the opportunity to visit the Dox Museum yesterday and not only did I experience VR(Virtual Reality) but also VR in 360 degrees. The museum itself is interesting as it’s architecture aims at people getting lost, there are even signs :-) which say “You first need to get lost to find yourself”. I can say that it is the first museum I have ever been so disoriented, even after being given directions twice :-), I guess this is a part of the fun and experience. The first VR experience I had was watching the Dark World, which focused on how the worms survive and thrive in the gold mines of South Africa. The second experience was watching the short documentaries with the VR 360. The short documentaries focus on the theme “No Man’s Land” the first highlights the border crossing in Cyprus, and that people do not visit the entire island of Cyprus because of the border crossing that divide...

Hi, take a look at Vysehrad at night, if you a visiting Prague, go for walk during the night at Vysehrad, it is simply breath-taking and not many people around ( perfect for a couple’s date :-) ).

About to enter the Rijksmuseum :-) What an amazing experience! If you plan on visiting the Rijksmuseum, prepare to see many paintings, artefacts from centuries ago, and also prepare to spend 4 -5 hours :-). As with most museums in Amsterdam, you are able to book your tickets online. I wanted to experience this museum on my last day in Amsterdam, and I am so grateful I did. Per recommendation, I began my tour on the second floor, which had Rembrandt paintings from the 1600s. As I saw the photos I came across several interesting facts, people of those times thought that tobacco was healthy and that they had unique cups where they played interesting games (the Dutch as in many European cultures, like to drink :-) ). Another thing I noticed was that many paintings were influenced by biblical stories, such as the story of “Adam and Eve”.  Drinking games cups The museum also focuses on the colonial times of the Dutch. I learned the sad truth of how the Dutch would...

Cimon and Pero (Roman Charity), Peter Paul Rubens, 1630 - 1640 Visiting the Rijksmuseum, this is the picture that stood out most to me. As I sat there I wondered to myself what could be the story behind this old man sucking on a woman’s breast. The breast of a woman is normally so sexualized, but as I was to find out later that her breast represented nourishment and saving a life. The story goes as follows, Cimon, the old man, is condemned to death by hunger, I am not sure what actions of his resulted in this punishment, however, he is sentenced to death by starvation. Not wanting to see her father suffer, his daughter chooses to secretly breastfeed her father each day as she visits him, so as not to let him die. When she is caught by the guards, and put to the courts, her father is set free because of her dutifulness as a daughter and the love she has bestowed on her father. This story is touching to be as it reflects the bond between a father and a child. Not...

The celebrated VanGogh, I have heard of this famous artist for many years, and to have the opportunity to visit  Amsterdam and to see his works, was a privilege in and of itself. The museum is beautifully laid out and even though the average time spent is 1,5 hrs, I could easily spend 4 to 5 hours trapped in time, looking at his thick strokes and seeing his message form with each line. Van Gogh, grew up in a time when Amsterdam was bustling with artists, to make yourself stand out, most artists committed to a specific genre of art, from painting only portraits, still life, to painting cheese ( Amsterdam is known for its cheese :-) ). For Van Gogh, he started out painting self-portraits, particularly because he could not afford models. Van Gogh self-portraits All of his self-portraits had different features, and probably they were indicative of what he was feeling at the time. Interesting for me was how he named his paintings, and the Dutch straightforwardness exemplifi...

Being in Amsterdam, I could not miss out on the opportunity to visit the Anne Frank House. Though knowing that it would bring some sadness, it was important to know about the world’s history, so as to be an agent of change for the future and not be a part of the problem.  The beauty of visiting the Anne Frank house is that you book your tickets online, as such there is no waiting time. I arrived an hour early, however, being alone I was permitted to enter the museum early. This was a surprise for me and was happy that the attendants were pleasant and allowed me entry. As I entered the museum, no photos were allowed and I respectfully obliged. The first thing that caught my attention was a large photo of Anne Frank, the youthfulness of the photo and the child-like innocence was only a mask to the darkness of what her family would have to endure. The story is told that the Franks had settled from Germany in Amsterdam as the war had begun. They opened a business...

6:36pm, sitting on the sofa contemplating if I should attend the 7pm film night or not. I have always had a fascination with North Korea, and even though this movie has promised torture and possibly death, I finally decided not to miss out on the opportunity and buckle up for a probably emotionally filled movie. The movie “The Net” is directed by Korean filmmaker Kim Ki-duk who is well-known for his artistic style film, instead of catering to mainstream media. Dawn, the rise of the sun, new beginnings, the joy of family, the tender caresses of a wife, this is how a fisherman by the name of  Nam Chul-woo begins his day. He will retrieve his net near the border between the North and South. As the boat goes into the distance, the border control asks what will he do if he crosses into the South, the fisherman states that he would stay with his boat(it took him 10 years of saving to earn that boat). As if the soldier was speaking the fate of  Nam, his net gets st...

Another film night, another film review, this week the film was entitled Foxtrot. Foxtrot (2017) is an Israeli film that has had many notable mentions.As I watched the 2 hour film I came to realise the effect of silence and that even though the dialogue in the film is kept to a minimum, the film remains poignant and succeeds in delivering the necessary emotions without saying a word. As an entry to the story, the film commences with the keywords “Mrs. Feldman”, and suddenly the audience realise that they sense the shock and devastation of these words that her son has died in the line of duty, without explicitly stating the obvious. The family wreaks with grief, the mother has been placed under sedation and the father is in such a state of shock, that he must be instructed to drink water every hour. The audience sees the inner grief being built up in the father and his need to release it, he goes to a window, will he jump? And then as he screams into the pillow beside...