Black Ark, Lee Scratch Perry

"The point of departure for the book Black Ark with Lee “Scratch” Perry (1936–2021),a Jamaican musical and visual artist who was based in Switzerland, is a detailedinventory of photographs and writings (Spring 2021) from the Black Ark Studios inKingston, Jamaica, where Lee produced his music from 1973 on. He was a seminalpioneer of dub, an electronic subgenre of reggae that uses sampling, looping,remixing, reverb and echoes to create new songs as well as rework and appropriatepre-recorded songs and tracks.Black Ark Studios was one of the cradles of dub. It’s also where Lee “Scratch”Perry’s musical approach found an enduring visual counterpart in the form ofcontinuously evolving mural paintings and drawings as well as shape-shiftingassemblages of records, instruments, found objects, posters, newspaper andmagazine clippings, and appropriated books. The artworks form actual layers uponlayers that are rhizomatically intertwined with the studio building itself as well as withthe furniture inside—and with Perry’s biography and persona.Perry created his very own, dense and eclectic world—a world that is documented inBlack Ark, before it disappears for good: the premises have recently been sold. Thephotographic documentation of the studio was supplemented by efforts to secure andpreserve Perry’s cultural objects as part of a joint project with various culturalinstitutions.Black Ark which reflects the rhythm and layering effects of collage both in its contentand the materials used to craft the book. Perry was involved in the conception of thebook in its early stages. It also interweaves various media and chronologies. The newphotographs of the Black Ark Studios will be juxtaposed with stills from olddocumentaries and archival photos.The idea of a “house” serves as both a working hypothesis and a metaphor. It will bethe starting point and endpoint of various thematic strands, both visual and textual:for example, the book will explore the Black Ark as a “spiritual yard” in the context ofAfrican diaspora, as well as looking into archeomusicological aspects. Furthermore,extended captions by Perry’s biographer will provide the backdrop for a kaleidoscopicpanorama of Perry’s eclectic and ingenious work."

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