This series of collage works by Chris Ofili brings tarot together with the unique and deeply rooted Trinidad Carnival characters that carnival performers bring to life each year. The costumes, dances, music, sounds and rituals associated with these characters have evolved over time and reflect a rich tradition of repurposing and recombining elements from different religions and folkloric traditions, and of burlesquing Trinidad’s history as a slave-owning society.
This syncretic spirit is palpable in the bricolage quality of these works by Ofili, their constituent parts glued and stapled together; they also incorporate places in Trinidad’s natural landscape, and forms and figures from the artist’s existing body of work. The monochrome chequered border that they share invites the viewer to make connections between them.