FAITH AYOUNG
The exhibition Repatriation – A New Beginning, at the Central Bank Museum, is the culmination of the late artist Glenn Roopchand’s vision of bringing his work back home to Trinidad and Tobago to be appreciated and valued.
Born in La Pastora, Santa Cruz, in 1952, Roopchand went to the John S Donaldson Technical Institute (now UTT) to study graphics, got a scholarship to study illustration at Pratt Institute, New York, and later went on to do a degree in fine arts at Montclair University, New Jersey.
He held exhibitions in New Jersey, where he lived with his wife, and had his own studio, where he held artists' tours and allowed other artists to exhibit their work. He taught art at high school part-time as a substitute teacher in Montclair and Newark, New Jersey.
He also held exhibitions at the TT consulate in New York and at galleries in New Jersey.
He was an apprentice of artist Carlisle Chang from 14-20 years before entering "John D." He was also mentored by the poet Anson Gonzalez in philosophy, from primary school to adulthood.
Roopchand was commissioned to reproduce a mural Chang originally did in 1962, at the old Piarco Airport building. Chang's mural, The Inherent Nobility of Man, was destroyed during renovations at the airport.
The reproduction was painted to commemorate the country's 60th anniversary of independence.
"Roopchand, along with other artists, worked to reproduce the work on canvas," the Ministry of Tourism website said.
Curator Andy Jacob, a long-time friend, said of Roopchand: "He loved his country, he was a patriot, and thought his country should have the best of him, but encountered difficulty bringing his art to TT."
After Roopchand's death in 2022, his widow, Angela, made it her responsibility to complete the process he started of bringing his art home.
Now, with the support of the Central Bank’s Museum and Arnim’s Art Gallery, a collection of 26 pieces have been brought from New Jersey.
With Jacob being in Trinidad and Angela in the US, photos had to be taken to ensure the right artwork was selected.
Jacob said a lot of planning and thought went into it, as the pieces had to have breathing room between them so the viewer could fully appreciate them without being bombarded by the abundance of colour and design.
He added, in an interview with Newsday, “One of the major challenges faced was the creation of crates by hand, made specifically to move the artworks."These were to keep them safe during shipping and installation. Each had to be wrapped in plastic, as they could not be rolled, having all been done on wood.
“Each piece’s weight had to be accounted for, as well as the shipping cost, planning and sourcing of materials to create the crates accurately up to the shipping standard. They had to be big enough for each piece, three feet tall by four feet wide, to pack and move easily out of the studio, to the shippers and then to the gallery.”
Jacob said these were just some of behind-the-scenes challenges of this exhibition, and a testament to the
