Attendees of the ‘Fractures’ art exhibition at Itopia Life in Kingston last weekend were exposed to dynamic art pieces that vocalise problems in society that constantly divide us as a nation such as gender-based violence, poverty and sexual orientation discrimination.

Event organiser Marina Burnel, who has been living in Jamaica for eight years, said the aim of Fractures was to welcome more open and honest discussions about real Jamaican problems by using the arts as a medium.

“I wanted this exhibition to talk more about the fractures that I can notice in the country like violence towards women and the LGBTQ community. I love Jamaica, its people and the resilience that people have,” explained Burnel.

This desire was apparent in one of the standout pieces of the night depicting a woman wearing a gas mask to symbolise the suffocating hardship that Jamaican women experience.

“I use the gas mask as a prop to symbolise the oppression that a lot of women can feel and I wanted it to convey emotions,” explained Burnel.

These creative pieces are made by screen printing street photos onto salvaged zinc to capture raw moments in time.

The exhibition had non-stop high energy moments led by the vibrant host and another key organiser, Romaine ‘Ash Grey’ Senior.

Burnel has also used this exhibition to give other Jamaican artists a platform because she recognises how important it is to highlight the inequalities and discrimination within society. Intriguing pieces created by artists such as Joni P Gordon and Desanna Watson were highly symbolic of societal injustices.

Attendees were also graced by performances from talented poets such as Jenelle ‘Neptune Naiadis’ Samuels and Tanisha ‘Qurov’ Bent who elaborated on the issues they have experienced.

“The collective experiences of myself and the wider Jamaica inspired my poems. I tend to write a lot about the problems women face here like grief, sexual abuse and basically the underbellies of society,” said Samuels.

Tanisha Bent’s poetic inspiration was sparked by her cousin’s death from gun violence.

“My pieces are representative of the mental and physical scarring that people experience,” shared Bent.

The interpretative dancing segment of the exhibition by actress Maylynne Lowe was left up to the audience’s perception but it represented love, relationships and loss. There was also another dance performance from ‘House of Blessings’, a transgender-led collective that seeks to highlight and amplify the work of those who are marginalised and are a part of the LGBTQ community. Some members of this group such as ‘Kyym Savage’ were models and muses for the art pieces. They also designed clothes such as the ensembles that they were wearing that night.

To end the night there was also a pop-up viewing of ‘Spotlight Shorts JA’. This viewing was a partnership with the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the Jamaica Film and Television Association (JAFTA). The short film highlights similar issues like gender-based violence, homophobia and domestic abuse.

Burnel discovered street photography in Trench town and fell in love with the life that she saw in the streets, compelling her to take it a step further. As a lover of art, she planned two art exhibitions last year and hopes to organise more in the future.