LAY/OVER JAMAICA

Jennifer Andrews

LAY/OVER JAMAICA

thirteen mixed-media drawings on acetate, each 15.5 x 13.5 inches

On the blue mosaic-tile wall of the 161 Street Associate building’s lobby, there hangs a series of framed black-and-white photographs depicting various buildings and street views from different periods in Jamaica’s history. Jennifer Andrew’s LAY/OVER: JAMAICA consists of overlay drawings on thin, transparent film temporarily affixed to the glass of each of these existing historic photographs. Viewers are able to look through her drawings and see the images below. Drawings are scaled to fit within the borders of each frame, and attached with small dots of poster putty.

Using transparent overlay drawings on top of the historic photographs of Jamaica, Andrews adds a new layer of imagery and commentary. Tenants and visitors who pass daily through this busy building lobby would notice that the existing black and white images have subtly transformed. Some of Andrews’ drawings playfully reference the area’s modern day street commerce, while others speak about the native species and peoples that used to walk the same paths. In her work, Andrews encourages viewers to rethink their concept of history as a series of static, unrelated events and in turn re-imagine their own role within a “place.”

American painter Jennifer Andrews was born in Buffalo, NY and studied painting at Hartford Art School in CT. Working in thin layers of oil paint and beeswax, her paintings investigate the structure of memory, myth and our connection to the natural world. Her work has been exhibited in numerous group and solo shows across the US and internationally. Andrews enjoys dividing working time between her studio in Harlem, NYC, and residencies abroad. Previous working locations include the Netherlands, Vietnam and Costa Rica. In addition to painting, Andrews works as part of the collaborative team Andrews LeFevre Studios, creating site-specific public art for communities and institutions. In their sculptural installations the team seeks to unearth the untold or forgotten histories of an area – including the native species, peoples and myths that disappear as concrete takes over a landscape.