Contemporary Arts

Marlon GRIFFITH

Born 1976 in Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago), based in Nagoya (Japan).

Started out designing Mas (masquerade) costumes for the Carnival in his hometown, and now makes costumes for parades where anyone can join in. In 2004, during a residency at Bag Factory Artists' Studios in Johannesburg, South Africa, Griffith held workshops in traditional Mas costume and mask making and staged a Trinidad-style carnival with other artists and local residents. In 2008, at SPRING, a public performance event within the Gwangju Biennale in South Korea, he presented 《Runaway Reaction》, on the subject of the Gwangju massacre and Trinidad’s Canboulay riots. In addition to parade-type performances, he has also exhibited sculpture and installations. One of his best-known such works is 《Powder Box》, a photo series in which he stenciled the logos of fashion brands in baby powder onto a women’s necks and chests. Since 2004 he has been artist-in-residence in Johannesburg, Mino (Gifu Prefecture), Kingston (Jamaica), Nassau (Bahamas), and Ghent (New York, USA), and has participated in exhibitions including CAPE09 (2009, Cape Town, South Africa) and "Cosmopolitan Stranger" (2012, Belgium) held in parallel with Manafesta 9.

  《Runaway Reaction》2008
Gwanju Biennale, Gwanju, South Korea
photo: Akiko Ota
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