Edna Manley Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Edna Manley - Essay Example However, her later works were done in clay and cast. The sculptors she made were greatly influenced by the cultural changes taking place in Jamaica at the time. Her art was aimed at reflecting the Jamaican culture and the experiences Jamaicans were undergoing at the time. During the early 1920s, after she had returned to Jamaica from England, Edna realized that Jamaican middle class expected all women to be subjects of their husbands and operate in their shadows. However, she was a keen observer of the Jamaican way of life, and through this observation, she got inspiration for her work. Beadseller is the first bronze casting sculptor she created in 1923. The beadseller was a sharp and lean body depicting a person undergoing hardships. This piece personified the suffering and troubles many people in Jamaica went through. Through her work, Edna also attempted to elevate the status of women in the society. Unlike many other artists at the time, her style mainly centered on women, for instance, in 1928, she created the carving Eve from mahogany. This image had rounded and sensual body forms (Laduke, 37). This piece was recognized as one of Edna’s important works in which she acknowledges the mother of mankind. Through her art, she was able to recognize the role women had in the society. For instance, in her work The Message (1977), Edna shows two women sharing a secret. She claimed that she saw these two women in the market place and knew that it was a secret an older woman tells a younger one. Other works with the theme of older women include Man-Child (1974) and The Ancestor (1974) (Laduke, 37). She was a champion and advocate of the Black Jamaican rights and freedom. Through her works, Edna was able to show the world that Black Jamaicans were capable and ready to make a contribution to the Jamaican society and the world as a whole. These works represented the quest for a new order in the Jamaican society. Two of such