Institute of Contemporary Art Miami ICA Miami

On the occasion of the opening weekend of “Denzil Forrester: We Culture,” ICA Miami will screen Julian Herinques’s 30-minute film Denzil’s Dance, followed by a Q&A between Forrester and Gean Moreno, curator of the exhibition.

Although Denzil Forrester began his career painting in the dub clubs of London in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Denzil’s Dance takes Forrester to Jamaica to sketch for the first time in the dance halls. The vibe of Kingston Dub Club, Uptown Mondays, and Weddy Weddy Wednesdays is captured by Forrester in his sketchbook as it is also captured by the camera. Through his method of gesture drawing Forrester develops a dynamic language to express the musical performance of the sound system sessions as a composition of texture, color, light and perspective. In the film, Forrester soaks up new inspiration for his paintings, while enjoying every moment of Kingston’s ever energetic dancehall scene.

In the subsequent Q&A session, we will delve into Forrester’s newfound fascination for Jamaican dancehalls and how they relate to the London dub clubs that gave him a space to both draw inspiration from and find community in. Along the way, we will try to decipher how music, how basslines and vibes, become vibrant paintings.