Cover Me

April 10, 2015 Eston Henry

The story behind this piece of art is one which is definitely worth thinking about.

Especially in a world where the general and acceptable idea is that a man must be the major provider in a household. Is this true, or is it a conditioning process which has taken root for centuries? So that we now believe and demand, that a man MUST provide, or he is NOT a man! And in Jamaica, dat a bwoy, or man-tuh! Ah nuh real man dat!

The work was partially inspired by a statement made by a young man who told me that he cannot entertain the thought of having a girlfriend until he is financially stable and materially comfortable. That is a very sensible thought for any man to have but it should not be due to reasons of feeling inadequate or useless as a person.

A man with a strong sense of responsibility will want to ‘cover’ the woman he is interested in developing a relationship with. The fundamental thought should be to see to basic needs which would benefit both persons and has long term rewarding results. However, I believe that most men have it wrong and their error in thinking is reinforced by women who have no interest if the man is not showing glitter. Because of this warped belief and its accompanying reinforcement, many men feel forced to put on a show. Unfortunately, all that glitters is not gold.

This is a pastel work with oil and chalk media. The man is depicted as dreaming of providing shelter. The umbrella is set on his head like a cap, a part of his apparel, to show how seriously this concept affects men. It is used, instead of a roof, because it more clearly depicts the shelter from rain, which leads to the idea of storms, then to the storms of life which I think is of great importance in this idea of providing support. Of course, by the time you get to storms, you realize that the umbrella is not an adequate cover. This guy is surely dreaming! The entire idea of the umbrella in this story, is to show how delicate and misunderstood the thought of a man being a provider is.

The woman is positioned so as to make the statement that she is a strong motivation for his desire to create this shelter, because he just can’t get her out of his mind. But she looks as precarious as the umbrella looks inadequate.

Because the image may immediately inspire thoughts of love and romance and lovliness, you will have to take some time to read into its more serious meanings. I have described just enough to get the viewer started. Feel free to make your own observations and derive your own understanding from what you see.

Like Eston’s Facebook Page HERE

Download The Jamaican Blogs™ App for your Android device: HERE

4 1 vote

Article Rating