Christopher Gonzales

Sculptor Laura Facey-Cooper has been thrust into the court of public opinion since her statue commemorating Emancipation in Jamaica was unveiled August 1 in Emancipation Park. Twenty-odd years ago, Christopher Gonzales faced a similar trial, when his statue of Bob Marley proved controversial.

Members of the artistic community lauded the Marley sculpture. But the late singer's family and public panned the life-size statue when it was presented here in late 1982.

Bob Marley statue

Speaking to SunDay Entertainment from his home in Discovery Bay last week, Gonzales said the public should have had some input in fashioning the Emancipation piece.

"The people should have been involved more in the selection of the design because ultimately it is the people who will live with it," he said.

"The subject of Emancipation is a public thing...we (artists) might have a little more knowledge because we are involved with the process but we are not above the society," Gonzales added. "I don't think doing it privately and then dumping on the people was fair."

A committee of leading figures from Jamaica's art establishment, including David Boxer, curator at the National Gallery of Jamaica, commissioned Facey-Cooper to do the bronze piece which replaced another by A D Scott.

Since its unveiling, Facey-Cooper's colossal figures of emancipated slaves -- a naked man and woman -- have provoked a range of opinions from laymen, academics and the arts community. Conservatives have protested the size of the male's genitalia, calling it a vulgar display for a public sculpture. Liberals consider the naked bodies an accurate depiction of Jamaica's slave past.

Gonzalez, 60, has yet to visit Emancipation Park to see Facey-Cooper's piece. But he saw a small "mock-up" of the piece and has viewed newspaper photos of the finished product.

He was unimpressed.

"It doesn't reflect Emancipation...it's not reflecting the drama of Emancipation," he said. "The woman, for example, looks too European...the African woman's figure has far more rhythm to it than that," Gonzales continued. "I'm not knocking the work, because it's an excellent sculpture, but it's not saying anything about Emancipation."

Gonzales also endured unflattering comments about his Marley statue when it was unveiled, even though he said Boxer and government officials gave it the thumbs-up just before it was presented to the public.

"I don't think Mrs Booker (Marley's mother) liked it, the prime minister (Edward Seaga) declared that it was a great piece of artwork but said that it wasn't appropriate for what they had planned," Gonzales recalled.

The Gonzales statue was eventually removed and the government commissioned Alvin Marriott to create another Marley sculpture. It now faces the National Stadium.

As for Gonzales' controversial statue, it languished for nearly 20 years at the National Gallery. Last October, it was taken to Ocho Rios where it now stands at the Island Village.

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