REMEMBERING NOTED JAMAICAN PHOTOGRAPHER KEN RAMSAY!

Ken Ramsay

 Top: Sample of work of Ramsay on display

Bottom: From left: Clyde McKenzie, Howard Hamilton and Earl Witter exchange pleasantries at the opening of the exhibition.

A small group gathered at the Redbones Blues Café in St Andrew on Thursday evening to pay homage to noted Jamaican photographer, the late Ken Ramsay.

The event was the opening of an exhibition at Redbones featuring some of Ramsay’s most iconic works.

Ramsay’s nephew Anthony Bailey told the Sunday Observer that the showing, which runs for the next two weeks is in a bid to introduce his uncle’s work to a younger generation and remind older persons of his contribution to Jamaican photography.

“The family is aware that, as time goes on, memories fade and we did not want that to happen. So we have assembled 20 of his best-known works for this exhibition,” said Bailey. “The works chosen give a sense of the man, the way he lived and truly represents the multi-palleted hue that is Jamaica,” he added.

Among the works available as prints and posters are the iconic The Head, featuring the bald pate of model-cum-Essence magazine editor Susan Taylor, and portraits of Prime Minister Michael Manley and intuitive artist Kapo.

In providing anecdotes Queen’s Counsel Howard Hamilton remembered his friend Ramsay as a “self-made man of style and substance”, which elicited applause from those gathered, recalling his sense of fashion complete with riding boots, cowboy hat and the obligatory scarf.

Artist and stylist Charl Baker called Ramsay a one-of-a-kind.

“He was a trendsetter. The minimal elegance of his work captured the essence of the subject and was strong and timeless.”

For filmmaker Mary Wells, Ramsay’s work demonstrated an understanding of the blend of reality and fashion, and got to the soul of the subject.