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Caribbean curatorial agencies: A Cultural Object’s unruliness and its affective aftermaths

Abstract

This essay analyzes A Cultural Object, an installation made by the Jamaican artist Dawn Scott in 1985, in order to discuss how institutional practices and criticism are framed in contemporary Caribbean art. Through an examination of A Cultural Object’s afterlife in the space of the National Gallery of Jamaica, I attempt to examine the relation between the agencies of the museum, the artist, the spectators, and the installation. In so doing, the text intends to reconsider the potential of unpredictable human and nonhuman relations within Caribbean institutional and cultural spaces.

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Caribbean curatorial agencies: A Cultural Object’s unruliness and its affective aftermaths

Author: Garrido Castellano, Carlos
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Year: 2016
Source: https://repositorio.ulisboa.pt/bitstream/10451/34670/1/55.pdf
h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/0921374016668544
Cul u al Dynamics
2016, Vol. 28(3) 249 –265
© The Au ho (s) 2016
Rep in s and pe missions:
sagepub.co.uk/jou nalsPe missions.na
DOI: 10.1177/0921374016668544
jou nals.sagepub.com/home/cdy
h ps://doi.o g/10.1177/0921374016668544
Cul u al Dynamics
2016, Vol. 28(3) 249 –265
© The Au ho (s) 2016
Rep in s and pe missions:
sagepub.co.uk/jou nalsPe missions.na
DOI: 10.1177/0921374016668544
jou nals.sagepub.com/home/cdy
Ca ibbean cu a o ial agencies:
A Cul u al Objec ’s un uliness
and i s a ec i e a e ma hs
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano
Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Po ugal
Abs ac
This essay analyzes A Cul u al Objec , an ins alla ion made by he Jamaican a is Dawn Sco in
1985, in o de o discuss how ins i u ional p ac ices and c i icism a e amed in con empo a y
Ca ibbean a . Th ough an examina ion o A Cul u al Objec ’s a e li e in he space o he Na ional
Galle y o Jamaica, I a emp o examine he ela ion be ween he agencies o he museum,
he a is , he spec a o s, and he ins alla ion. In so doing, he ex in ends o econside he
po en ial o unp edic able human and nonhuman ela ions wi hin Ca ibbean ins i u ional and
cul u al spaces.
Keywo ds
a ins i u ions, Ca ibbean a , cu a o ship, Jamaica, spec a o ship
In a emp ing o acknowledge he imp ecision and agueness o he no ion o c i icism,
Raymond Williams (1983: 84) u ged o a kind o ac i i y su passing he limi a ions o
“ aul - inding.” In Keywo ds, Williams acks he his o ical o igin o he wo d, explain-
ing how he concep became associa ed wi h nega i i y. Challenging his adi ion,
Williams se s aside his e ymological analysis in o de o p opose a ede ini ion o he
concep . Fo Williams, c i icism is de ined as a p ac ice a en i e no only o con inuous
sel - e ision bu also o he need o ske ching al e na i e ma e ializa ions o cus oms,
agencies, and a ec ions in esponse o speci ic spa ial– empo al coo dina es. Williams
(1983) u ges o a ans o ma i e ini ia i e, di ec ly embedded wi hin i s cul u al con ex
and he e o e no di ec ly ansla able o o he con ex s (p. 86). This ad ice canno be o
mo e ele ance in a momen when he links be ween a and labo , ins i u ional dynam-
ics, ins i uen p ac ices, and cul u al ac i ism a e being in ensely e hough .
Co esponding au ho :
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano, Cen o de Es udos Compa a is as, Uni e sidade de Lisboa, Alameda da
Uni e sidade, 1600-214 Lisbon, Po ugal.
Email: [email p o ec ed]
668544CDY 0010.1177/0921374016668544Cul u al DynamicsGa ido Cas ellano
esea ch-a icle2016
A icle
250 Cul u al Dynamics 28(3)
Bo owing om hese deba es and adop ing Williams’ ac i e, si ua ed no ion o c i i-
cism, his a icle examines some o he ghos ly p esences and pi alls in Ca ibbean c i ical
and cu a o ial p ac ices and he hinking su ounding hem. My main conce n is wi h chal-
lenging he p imacy o discou se in he con igu a ion o na ional and egional his o ies and
unde s andings o a is ic p ac ice. In o de o ques ion ha endency, I will sugges ha
he e is much o be lea ned om spec a o ship and om a wo ks hemsel es. I will ana-
lyze A Cul u al Objec , he ins alla ion ha he Jamaican a is Dawn Sco c ea ed in 1985
o he celeb a ed exhibi ion Six Op ions: Galle y Space Re isi ed, which ook place a he
Na ional Galle y o Jamaica. Sco ’s p ojec consis ed o a complex laby in h o med by
zinc shee s and labeled “A Cul u al Zone.” The laby in h’s walls we e co e ed wi h a dis-
join ed mix u e o s ee cul u e pa aphe nalia e e ing o eligion, dancehall, consume
cul u e, and ga ison poli ics,1 cen e ing on a de elic scena io p esided o e by he supine
body o a homeless pe son. A Cul u al Objec is said o ha e ansla ed he a mosphe e o
Kings on s ee s wi hin he space o he museum (Poupeye, 1985), sha ing he ealism and
pessimism o he 1980s, which ollowed he socialis go e nmen o Michael Manley.2
F om his s andpoin , he p ojec ’s main asse is based on he shock i p o okes in he
“up own” isi o o he Na ional Galle y.3 Howe e , I will a gue ha Sco ’s ins alla ion is
somehow subjec ed o a con adic o y alence: on one hand, i cons i u es a co ne s one in
he p ocess o in oducing popula cul u e wi hin he Jamaican na ional canon. On he o he
hand, i eme ges as a ges u e o ches a ed by he e y ins i u ion i sough o c i icize.
A Cul u al Objec a ose om a e y pa icula con ex and empo ali y. Howe e , as
i also poses poignan and imely ques ions o ou unde s anding o c ea i e agency and
ins i u ionalism in he p esen . Since i s c ea ion, he ins alla ion became a popula e e -
en , a ac ing he a en ion o se e al gene a ions and de eloping a so o a e li e. As
we will see, his a e li e is a om being unp oblema ic. In his a icle, I main ain ha
he e is an “un uly” po en ial in Sco ’s ins alla ion. This po en ial ela es i s capaci y o
leeing ins i u ional no mali y and demanding al e na i e emo ional esponses. The
“un uliness” o A Cul u al Objec eme ges as an uncom o able and eloquen wi ness o
he Ca ibbean a wo ld’s eli ism and he con inui y o social and acial p i ileges wi hin
Ca ibbean pos colonial ins i u ional li e; howe e i also, as I will a emp o demon-
s a e, ma ks a lucid pa h o wa d.
A Cul u al Objec speaks eloquen ly no only abou he pa icula issues i deals wi h,
he “high and low cul u e” deba es, and he ins i u ional poli ics in Jamaica. The e is
some hing ha e uses hema iza ion and ca ego iza ion, some “ou -o -join ness” in A
Cul u al Objec , and ha elemen , I sugges , goes beyond (wi hou dismissing i ) he
po en iali y o he wo k in de ying and expanding he pos colonial Jamaican na ional
canon, enabling a c i ique ha s ands close o Williams’ aspi a ions. Sco ’s ins alla ion
bea s impo an insigh s on how cul u e is c ea ed, exhibi ed, and consumed. I also
e eals he po en iali y o c i icism o unse le no ma i e con igu a ions and p opose
al e na i e ones while ques ioning hei own each. The ins alla ion also helps us o mo e
o wa d om he “p o-con” deba es on ins i u ional p i ilege ha ha e pe mea ed
Jamaican pos colonial a c i icism. The (lack o ) inclusi i y o he Jamaican na ional
canon and o a poli ics and he exclusion o e nacula p ac ices, on one hand, and he
inse ion o any a is ic discou se wi hin an all-encompassing na ionalis discou se, on
he o he , ha e se ed as a cen al ocus o he deba es ha a ose in he las decades o
Ga ido Cas ellano 251
he wen ie h cen u y (Douglas, 2004; he main posi ions o hose deba es a e exp essed
in A che -S aw and Poupeye, 1995; Boxe and Poupeye, 1982, 1998; Paul, 1998, 1999,
2003b, 2009; Poupeye, 1998, 2007). Al hough engaging wi h hem, A Cul u al Objec is
no (me ely) abou inse ing he e nacula inside he museum. I is (also) abou wha
emains ou side he cu a o ial p ocess and he ins i u ional space. I objec s and images
ha e an a e li e and can be concep ualized as “wan ing” beings (Mi chell, 2005), so do
exhibi ions. In many cases, hose desi es anscend hei c ea o s’ will. In explo ing A
Cul u al Objec and i s cu a o ial a e ma h,4 I in end o o eg ound a ious elemen s
ela ed o issues o a is ic ins i u ionalism, ins i u ional displays, ins i u ional c i ique
and he o unes o cu a o ial ini ia i es, which a e pa ially dismissed o igno ed in
Ca ibbean cu a o ial p ac ice and hough .
Some ques ions a ise. Why does A Cul u al Objec —one o he mos acclaimed and
popula symbols o he dynamism o Jamaican e nacula cul u e and he “ e nacula i-
za ion” o he na ional museum—con ain a dying body a i s e y co e?5 Wha does his
body ell us? Wha does i wan om us? In ying o answe some o hose ques ions, in
he nex sec ions, I will analyze h ee aspec s o A Cul u al Objec : how he ins alla ion
engages wi h cu a o ial and ins i u ional agency,6 wha kind o a ec s and esponses i
p o okes wi hin he museum space, and how i s a e ma h is linked o he e ogeneous—
and no exclusi ely human7—agencies.
A Cul u al Objec
Be o e c ea ing A Cul u al Objec , Dawn Sco was p ima ily known o he igu a i e
ba iks, al hough she had also p oduced sculp u e, pain ing, and clo hing, and designed
hea e se s (Con ads, 2000: 56). He in e en ion a he Na ional Galle y was, indeed,
Sco ’s i s and only ins alla ion. A Cul u al Objec occupied an en i e oom a he
Na ional Galle y. I s laby in hine s uc u e o ced a pa ial, incomple e, and g adual pe -
cep ion. A he en ance o he zinc spi al, we ind a message s a ing, “Cul u al Zone.
En e a you own isk,” which echoes he ga ison poli ics o he pe iod (Poupeye, 2009a).
Despi e his wa ning, he en ance is he mos “play ul” and “in i ing” pa o he ins al-
la ion, as i is deco a ed wi h ound pos e s ad e ising music e en s and e e ences o
dancehall and popula cul u e. The en ance gi es way o a “da ke ” scena io as we ace a
na ow, di y co ido , whe e ad e isemen s o e e yday consume p oduc s and allu-
sions o eligion, poli ics, sexuali y, and educa ion sha e he ep esen a ional space. This
pa is no only c owded wi h messages; hese become mo e explici and acqui e a mo e
ominous one, wi h e e ences anging om he Jamaica Labou Pa y (JLP) and Edwa d
Seaga, o sexis a i udes owa d he emale body, and so on. The quan i y o deb is
inc eases as we a i e o he cen e o he spi al, whe e he body o a dying homeless man
lies sp awled ac oss he loo . Be o e eaching his climax, wo adjacen ly si ua ed mes-
sages me i ou a en ion: he i s one says, “De on House,”8 and he second one s a es,
“Jimmy Lea e in Space.” “Jimmy” is he name o he clay igu e o a homeless pe son
sculp ed by Sco . Based on a model in he s udio, he appea ance o he ca ed igu e
aims o be as ealis ic as possible. This ealism, essen ial o he shock alue he ins alla-
ions aim o elici , is he esul o me iculous documen a ion o Kings on’s ghe o spaces
(Poupeye, 1985: 7) (Image 1, Cou esy o he Na ional Galle y o Jamaica).
252 Cul u al Dynamics 28(3)
Image 1. Dawn Sco . A Cul u al Objec .
Image 2. Dawn Sco . A Cul u al Objec .
Ga ido Cas ellano 253
I was p ecisely his e isimili ude, along wi h he bi e one wi h which i was
applied o Jamaican e e yday eali y and ansla ed in o he eli is space o he (na ional)
whi e cube, which ende ed A Cul u al Objec unique wi hin he exhibi ion in which i
was in eg a ed and which ine i ably made i a popula e e en wi hin Jamaican and
Ca ibbean a . Sco ’s ins alla ion was by a he mos ad en u ous and dynamic wo k
p oduced wi hin Six Op ions: Galle y T ans o med, one o he main exhibi ions o gan-
ized by he Na ional Galle y o Jamaica in he 1980s. Six Op ions a ose a a ime when
Jamaican a was being ede ined. Al hough he e m “ins i u ional c i ique” does no
appea in any analysis o he show, i was clea ha he exhibi ion aimed o a challenge
o he ep esen a ional and discu si e scope o he Na ional Galle y. In Six Op ions, cu a-
o Rosalind Smi h McC ea was asked o commission six ins alla ions ( ou by Jamaican
Image 3. Dawn Sco . A Cul u al Objec .
Image 4. Dawn Sco . A Cul u al Objec .

254 Cul u al Dynamics 28(3)
a is s: Colin Ga land, Lau a Facey, Da id Boxe , and Dawn Sco and wo by Ame ican
a is s: Joyce Sco and Sam Gilliam) o be si ua ed in di e en spaces o he Na ional
Galle y. Six Op ions somehow cons i u ed one side o he coin o he o he cen al show
o Jamaican a de eloped in he 1980s: Jamaican A : 1922–1982, an exhibi ion cu a ed
by Da id Boxe and o ganized by he Na ional Galle y o Jamaica and he Smi hsonian,
which se ed as a majo su ey o mode n and con empo a y Jamaican a exhibi ed
ab oad and which has become “a s anda d esou ce o Jamaica’s a his o y om 1922
o 1997” (Douglas, 2004: 52).
A Cul u al Objec and he Ca ibbean cu a o ial
In a equen ly quo ed in e iew, Annie Paul de ined he posi ion o Ch is ophe Cozie ,
a cen al igu e in con empo a y T inidadian a and one o he leading ac o s in he coun-
y’s a is ic mode niza ion, as ha o an Al e Na i e: “Ch is alks o eeling ‘s o yless’
and ‘my hless.’ The al e na i es a e na i es wi hou na a i es, o pe haps hose wi h
unpopula na a i es” (Paul, 2003a). The cha ac e iza ion o Ca ibbean a is s as “na i es
Image 5. Dawn Sco . A Cul u al Objec .
Ga ido Cas ellano 255
wi hou na a i es” o ms pa o a majo pi all o Ca ibbean c i icism and he p esence
o a ce ain nega i i y in he conside a ion o a is ic agency, ul ima ely engaged in he
ask o “ aul - inding.” A ocus on imaging and imagina ion has p e ailed in he mos
ecen c i icism. In ying o con es he inhe i ance o he colonial gaze wi hin he pic-
u esque imagina ies (Thompson, 2006), he poli ics and imes o ecep ion o Ca ibbean
isuali y (Wainw igh , 2011, 2012, 2013), and he commodi iza ion o acial and sexual
di e ence wi hin and beyond he egion (Kempadoo, 2013; Mohammed, 2011; S ephens,
2013), a s ong emphasis has been placed on explo ing and ca ego izing he coun e -
na a i es elabo a ed by Ca ibbean a is s. This li e a u e in ends o “ eo ien hough s,
ideas, knowledge, and c ea i i y as eme gen and embedded in Ca ibbean isual sensibil-
i y” (Kempadoo, 2013: 152). Howe e , i is clea ha his ask seems un ealizable wi h-
ou paying a en ion o how his isual sensibili y engages wi h he ins i u ional
amewo ks de e mining i s p oduc ion and display. Looking back a he example open-
ing his sec ion, Cozie ’s ac i i y is highly conce ned wi h ins i u ing pla o ms ha
could be used o imp o e signi ican aspec s o he cul u al milieu. Cozie was esponsi-
ble o he c ea ion o wo pi o al a is -managed spaces in Po o Spain, CCA7 (2000–
2005) and Alice Ya d (2006–ongoing), which ha e been essen ial in os e ing a clima e
o discussion and exchange, in p omo ing he wo k o young T inidadian a is s, and in
es ablishing links wi h simila ini ia i es ac oss he Ca ibbean. This side o Cozie ’s
ac i i y s ands o he po en ial o a is ic p ac ice—e ec i ely, no only discu si ely—
o ins i u ing new isual opes and, mo e han ha , a noncommodi ized, expanded e -
ain o Ca ibbean a is ic p ac ice.
A Cul u al Objec is especially eloquen in his ega d. I is nei he silen no does i
ela e o an unpopula na a i e. The ins alla ion igge s a mul isenso y se o elemen s
ha “ha e a li e on hei own” wi hin he egula ed space o he Na ional Galle y,
demanding pa icula esponses by he audience’s side. The museum he e eme ges as
open o con lic and nego ia ion, des abilizing he ela ionship be ween cul u al spaces,
na ionalis agendas, and ins i u ional powe . Sco ’s ins alla ion also e idences he need
o add ess he c i ique o cu a o ial p ojec s om a posi ion ha is a en i e o he a icu-
la ion o “ac i e and complex ela ions” aking place in uncanny, un uly, uncon olled
ways in a so o cu a o ial a e ma h. In his sec ion, I a gue ha bo h p emises— he
enac men o mul iple, some imes con lic ing agencies wi hin cu a o ial p ac ice and he
a e li e o hose beyond he exhibi ional momen —p esen in A Cul u al Objec enable
an al e na i e, mo e comp ehensi e app oach o Ca ibbean ins i u ional and cu a o ial
his o ies.9
Sco ’s ins alla ion shows how he a e li e o cu a o ial ini ia i es and he dispu es
o e ins i u ional space can be eloquen in he ways in which es ablished and al e na i e
con igu a ions and p ac ices o ins i u ional li e, cul u al c i icism, and isual commod-
i iza ion a e de ined and ma e ialized. My in en ion is no so much o posi A Cul u al
Objec as an example o he specialized ac i i y e e ed o as cu a ing. Ra he , I in end
o show he po en iali y o hinking “ h ough” exhibi ions and ins i u ional p ac ices10
and he ela ed mul i a ious se o p essing issues conce ning Ca ibbean socie ies and
cul u es a la ge. Al hough A Cul u al Objec “cap u ed” he logic o he museum and he
cu a o ial discou se ha o igina ed i , he ins alla ion, ne e heless, e ealed i sel o be
pa icula ly esis an o s aigh o wa d hema ic ca ego iza ions. I is s iking how he
256 Cul u al Dynamics 28(3)
exhibi ion’s inno a i e po en ial was soon app op ia ed by a na ionalis ic agenda in he
o icial, ins i u ional discou se. Vee le Poupeye (1985), hen wo king a he Depa men
o Educa ion o he Na ional Galle y, jus i ied he o iginali y o he exhibi ion as
ollows:
On my i s isi o he Na ional Galle y one hing was immedia ely appa en : expe imen a ion,
o mal expe imen a ion especially, was a he subdued in Jamaican a . Only ecen ly ha e
some Jamaican a is s s a ed looking beyond he limi s o ep esen a ion and he adi ional
media. This can pe haps be explained by he ac ha Jamaican wen ie h cen u y a has been
playing a c ucial ole in he g ow h o a na ional cul u al consciousness. A se ed (and s ill
se es) a speci ic pu pose in his socie y. (p. 4)
This has o be unde s ood as pa o he p ocess o de ending he ole o cul u al ins i-
u ions in he con igu a ion o a pos colonial Jamaican na ional iden i y.11 F om his pa -
icula s andpoin , he exhibi ion is “deac i a ed” and inco po a ed in o he na ional a
canon as ano he exp ession o Jamaicanness. “Na ional cul u al consciousness” he e
aims o s and o he en i e socie y, wi h he ins i u ion being simul aneously he objec
and he subjec o c i icism. In he nex sec ion, I will explo e how he ins alla ion’s a e -
li e esis s i s in eg a ion wi hin any s able, uni ocal ca ego iza ion.
E ec s and a ec s
In a sho ex abou ins i u ional p ac ices, Gilles Deleuze concei ed o ins i u ions as
o ganized sys ems o mediums ha can be employed o sa is y pa icula demands
h ough ac ion. Fo him, ins i u ions a e he main pla o m o a i ma i e ac ion, o he
deg ee o a i ming ha “men ha e no ins inc s, hey p oduce ins i u ions” (Deleuze,
2002: 27).12 He s a es,
The heo y o he ins i u ion places he nega i e ou side o he social (needs) in o de o p esen
socie y as essen ially posi i e, in en i e (o iginal means o sa is ac ion). One such heo y
would o e us poli ical c i e ia: y anny is a egime whe e he e a e many laws and ew
ins i u ions; democ acy, a egime whe e he e a e many ins i u ions, ew laws. (Deleuze, 2002:
25)13
The dis inc ion be ween ins i u ions and ins inc s, as well as he po en ial o he o -
me in con igu ing communi ies o a ec , is made pa icula ly e iden by A Cul u al
Objec ’s a e li e. The popula i y o he ins alla ion is qui e eloquen abou how i chan-
nels an a ec i e ela ionship wi h he su ounding ins i u ional space, one ha can imply
he ep oduc ion o ex e nally imposed and commodi ized social alues, while also
en isaging a i ma i e c ea i e ac s. The memo ies linked o A Cul u al Objec a e qui e
eloquen in his ega d.14 Sco ’s p ojec was pe cei ed as di e en om he es o he
ins alla ions comp ising Six Op ions. In Sco ’s p ojec , a numbe o uncon en ional
dynamics we e pu in o play. Ye , wha he ins alla ion ac ually in ends is one hing.
Qui e ano he hing al oge he is how i was, and is, pe cei ed by he di e en subjec s
po ayed in he wo k o hose pa icipa ing cu a o ially o ins i u ionally. The c i ical
alue o cu a o ial ac i i y un olds as hinking is ma e ialized h ough ou doing,15 as
Ga ido Cas ellano 257
p axis (Smi h, 2012: 38). Tha doing, howe e , is no limi ed o he empo ali y o he
exhibi ion, no o he cu a o ’s agency. This p axis always escapes—a leas pa ially—
cu a o ial and ins i u ional will, hus being open o unp edic able e ec s and a ec s. The
“unexpec ed” eac ions o ou ins alla ion a e pa o ha p ocess.
In he analysis o he ins alla ion, Vee le Poupeye (2009a) ca ego ized Sco ’s wo k as
“an ins uc i e c ack in he ins i u ional a mo o he NGJ.” Ea lie in he same en y, she
desc ibed he success o he ins alla ion among he Jamaican public as ollows:
While A Cul u al Objec ob iously esona es wi h Jamaican audiences, he public esponse has
always had a sensa ionalis , ana chic edge. Visi o s almos immedia ely s a ed adding hei
own g a i i o he walls and while he a is ini ially accep ed his de ac o in e ac i i y, he
esul s ha e been unexpec ed and o en dis u bing. Mos o he g a i i a e simply ju enile—o
he “Kil oy was he e” a ie y—bu many o he s a e obscene o poli ically pa isan and illus a e
exac ly hose cul u al a i udes Sco sough o c i ique. E en he “s ee pe son” sculp u e has
been andalized—one o i s legs was b oken, which sadly mimics he abuse s ee people
some imes encoun e in Jamaica—and he a imes unpleasan smell illus a es ha some e en
u ina e inside he ins alla ion. (Poupeye, 2009a)
Poupeye’s alo iza ion o he ins alla ion highligh s he in e ac i e side o he p ojec ,
men ioning he spon aneous esponses o i , as well as he ole an and emb acing a i ude
o he ins i u ion. The ins alla ion is aken as a pedagogical de ice, one ha aimed o
challenge he pe cep ion o he museum as an immacula e whi e cube. Ne e heless, he
e ec s and a ec s mo i a ed by he ins alla ion a e no he desi ed ones: in he app ecia-
ion, hey appea as an obscene supplemen , a “dis u bing” p esence ha be ays Sco ’s
“e ec i e” ac o c i icism. Wi hin his amewo k, A Cul u al Objec eme ges as
(na ional) he i age, and he esponses o i as excessi e, uncomp essible ac s.16 While he
ex is highly emo ional, as she loca es he esponses o he ins alla ion in an a ch anging
om “sensa ionalis ” and “ana chic” o “dis u bing,” i s conclusion is a a ional condem-
na ion o andalism. I is as i ha condemna ion somehow elega ed he eelings a ising
om he a is ic expe ience o a seconda y posi ion, implying he e o e a closu e o he
“ins uc i e c ack” in he ins i u ion posed by Sco ’s p ojec . In any case, Poupeye
acknowledges he emo ional po en ial o he ins alla ion: al hough “w ong,” he a acks
o he igu e, he ac o u ina ing wi hin he wo k, and he g a i i a e spon aneous, “ana -
chis ” esponses sanc ioned by he a is —and we ha e o add: ole a ed by he ins i u-
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The ac ha A Cul u al Objec is an example o cu a ing ha links o emo ions and
a ec s also ollows om Dawn Sco ’s s a emen on he p ojec . In ying o deal wi h he
“in e ac i i y” o he ins alla ion, Sco poin ed ou how A Cul u al Objec ’s space conju es
some o ou a o i e na ional obsessions mainly as p ojec ed in he media, a psychological
condi ion in which we a e obliged o li e, especially ou poo es and mos ulne able, and he
esul ing way in which people see and p ojec hemsel es, mainly h ough g a i i. (Na ional
Galle y o Jamaica, 2010).
Con a y o Poupeye’s in e p e a ion, he e, he ocus has passed om he c i icism o
excessi e esponses o he ins alla ion and he di icul ies o dealing wi h hem
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Au ho biog aphy
Ca los Ga ido Cas ellano wo ks a he Cen e o Compa a i e S udies o Lisbon Uni e si y. His
esea ch in e es s ocus on Ca ibbean isual cul u e, c i ical heo y, and collabo a i e a is ic p ac-
ices. He has done long- e m ieldwo k esea ch in Jamaica, Cuba, he Dominican Republic,
Ma inique, Guadeloupe, T inidad and Tobago, Pue o Rico, and he Uni ed S a es. He is au ho o
wo books on Ca ibbean a and cu a o ial poli ics. Cu en ly he coo dina es he esea ch p ojec
“Compa ing We’s: Collec i ism, Emancipa ion, Pos coloniali y.”