Colonial Debris is an ongoing series of work that I started in 2022. I created a new installation for the series during the In Relations exhibit that opened at Tern Gallery in February 2024.

The Colonial Debris installation shares images of 7 different created icons- the Priest, the Black Angels, the Columns, the Torsos, the Banker, the Mahogany, and the Drummer. Each image is made from hand drawing and hand painting. I complete each image by placing a final layer of graphite screen print on top of the paintings. The whole process of making these new images references hand-painted photographs that were previously used for tourist postcards. Each figure made within this series has become one of my new icons for the Caribbean region, thinking about new icons that can emerge from the colonial debris.

“The In Relation exhibit at Tern Gallery was a group exhibit featuring Caribbean artists, Gherdai Hassell, Simon Tatum, and Drew Weech. It brought together three practices from the Anglophone Caribbean to illuminate intimacy within the personal and the political.” -Jodi Minnis.

Artworks from the Colonial Debris series are now available for purchase with Tern Gallery. If you are interested in finding out more details, reach out to them directly (link: https://www.terngallery.com/projects-with/simon-tatum).