NEGRO AROUSED

This magnificent statue stands at the corner of Kings Street, on the Kingston Waterfront, a symbol of the pride of the black people. It is also a symbol of national pride and an extraordinary family history that has forged the Jamaican identity. The original statue was created in 1935 by English artist Edna Manley, wife and mother of two prime ministers, Norman Manley and Michael Manley. Iconic work in very dark mahogany wood that symbolizes the struggle of the black man to free himself from slavery, in a powerful posture. It also metaphorically represents the long road to independence for Jamaican resistance fighters. It is one of the centerpieces currently on display at the National Gallery in Kingston. In 1977, its gigantic replica was created to symbolize Jamaican workers. Edna Manley surrounded herself with multiple student sculptors to build it, in bronze. Before it was shipped to New York to be cast in bronze, the nearly eight-foot version was destroyed in a warehouse fire. In 1982, Edna Manley produced a third version, closer in size to the original (smaller), but incorporating parts of the destroyed sculpture. In 1991, finally, the sculpture was posthumously cast in bronze, four years after the artist's death, in its monumental size that you can see here. It was nicknamed "the Mother of Jamaican Art" and was buried in 1987 with Norman Manley in the National Heroes Park in Kingston.