Painting and singing for a cause - Artists, Tony Rebel give time and talent to support Down's Syndrome

Erin Hansen, Sunday Gleaner Writer

Tony Rebel along with artists pooled their efforts to aid in research and care for children with Down's Syndrome.

Rebel, a surprise guest performer, at the Jamaica Cooperative Credit Union League (JCCUL) Credit Union Week launch party, also has a child with Down's Syndrome and thought the cause worthy.

"My son had Down's Syndrome and a heart condition from since he was young," said Rebel who was asked by the Jamaica Down's Syndrome Foundation (JDSF) to perform as a surprise guest. "It was an honour for me to make my contribution to something that was well needed and something that is as important as this."

The JCCUL combined its launch party with the charity event and Rebel, one foot heavily bandaged, performed well.

Rebel played songs from his vast discography including, Another Bill Again, Alone, and a new track, Love Soldier off Jeremy Harding's 'City Life' rhythm.

Rebel also led the crowd in an a capella version of Al Green's Let's Stay Together. One credit union patron joined him onstage to sing in harmony.

The event, which took place at the Terra Nova Pavillion kicked off with a silent art auction, with the benefits earmarked for the JDSF.

Over 15 pieces were on display from five different artists.

Patrons perused the art while DJ Kurt Riley mixed a wide range of jazz, pop, disco and dancehall from the selector's booth.

Starting bids were displayed for each piece and patrons were encouraged to propose beyond the suggested sum by dropping their bids into an anonymous auction box. The highest bidder then wins the piece and the funds are donated to JDSF.

The pieces ranged from the more abstract, textured mediums of Alphanso Blake and E. McLeod, to a twist on the traditional with Toraine Campbell's still lifes and Eugene Campbell and Richard Hall's active community scenes.

In Alphanso Blake's pieces, the patron experienced texture in organic ways. The artiste used objects such as leaves to make imprints in Nude and thick brush movements to create patterned arrangements in the abstract Orchid Dream.

The Sunday Gleaner spoke with McLeod about the donation of his pieces, which were taken from both his personal collection and from various galleries where they were on display.

McLeod has a unique style of iridescent three-dimensional sculptures on canvas. "It is eco-friendly art, they are all made from recycled sawdust," McLeod pointed out. After finishing a ceramics course at The Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts, McLeod developed a new medium in sawdust because the traditional clay medium was expensive to work with. In what he calls Woodclay, McLeod molds sawdust with glue and dries the piece in the sun before applying his final artistic touches. It is an innovative way of creating, done by no other artist in the Caribbean.

Traditional

Toraine Campbell contributed pieces of the more traditional still-life medium using moody browns and exacting brush strokes to highlight an attention to detail which was particularly poignant in the piece, Broken Spanish Jar.

In Eugene Campbell and Richard Hall's pieces, there was a lively atmosphere. Eugene Campbell paid special attention to Jamaican cultural elements, using realism to create Still-Life in the Market or energetic scenes of musicians or Mento dancers in their environs. At the same time, Richard Hall used a type of realism with broad-brush strokes to convey scenes of playing children and country life, such as in Country Yard.

Winners of the silent auction will be revealed later this week as Credit Union Week 2010 festivities continue. The next event on the itinerary for Credit Union Week takes place today at Emancipation Park with a free gospel concert starting at 6 p.m.

That event features DJ Nicholas, Sandra Brooks and others.

CAPTIONS:

Rene Allen-Casey (left) and Rita Humphries-Lewin seem quite interested in this piece of art during a silent art auction, which was part of the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League party to launch Credit Union Week on Thursday at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel. - Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer

Reggae star Tony Rebel gives a great performance at the Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League Credit Union Week launch party, held at Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel, Waterloo Road, on Thursday. -  Winston Sill/Freelance Photographer