Portrait of a Virgin Island Maroon - Joseph Hodge

Portrait of a Virgin Island Maroon- Joseph Hodge
By April Glasgow

At his studio, the cool sea breeze blows gently inside the wooden hut, he plays jazz and burns incense to create what he calls, “his element.” He drums as he speaks, his rhythm is a heartbeat- “just like art,” he says.

The Asante Art Studio is where Joseph Hodge, Joe for short, a native artist, finds his solace. He paints images and remnants of Virgin Islands culture, which is not at all surprising, considering that his position as an artist is historian.

Verna Penn Moll, another Virgin Islands historian and author wrote [about Hodge], “This mainly self-taught artist has been capturing much of the social and cultural history of the BVI on canvas for more than 35 years.” No, he wasn’t trained in any art school, or any other related institution. He says it was only natural that he became an artist.

“They ask me- where did you study? I say- in the bush,” Joe says with a smile, yet with a serious tone of voice. “That’s where the sciences are at, that’s where the priests are at, and that’s where the people like me are at.”

This ‘man of the bush’ was born in Tortola, raised in a full home of six siblings. His mother, who travelled to many Caribbean islands with Joe and the rest of the family, helped him to develop his appreciation for cultural diversity and strengthened his keen observation skills as well. His relationship with his grandmother, who was a bush doctor, was strong, and he maintains that all that she taught him still remains.

He went to school in Tortola, has lived on other Caribbean islands, including St. Maarten, Curacao and St. Thomas, where he spent much of his life; but now he’s back in the country of his birth.

He was always a fisherman, and attributes a lot of his knowledge to the older fishermen in the village with which he would venture out on the seas.

“I learned the science of man and God- about the stars and the moon amongst them,” Hodge says. At a young age he was exposed to bush medicine, local artisans and farmers who all contributed to his vast knowledge of culture. He was always a curious one. Joe recalls one day poking his nose into a jar his mother told him to leave alone. All he could remember is waking up and hurriedly putting the cover back onto the jar which contained smelling salts.

It was while working on Tortola, as a bartender after school, that Joe got an epiphany. It came to him in the form of the book, “Separate Reality” by Carlos Castaneda. Forgotten by some tourists he was tending to, it was the beautiful painting on the cover that caught his eye.

While on St. Thomas, he attended the University of the Virgin Islands for a few semesters, and only took classes he thought he would benefit from; namely, the arts, history and the sciences. He would try to read anything he could get his hands on about Africa, whether it was Nelson Mandela in South Africa or Queen Nanny of the Maroons in Jamaica. It was this close association that he felt to Africa that inspired the naming of his studio.

Joe established the Asante Art Studios on Tortola in the sixties. He sold his first painting for $25, “which was a lot of money back then,” he recalled.

“It’s keeping with the time- we never accept defeat,” says Joe about naming his studio. Who’s the we he speaks about? “The Asante organized revolts to sustain African culture. The name will never die.” Joe’s eyes are now bright and full, signaling the importance of his statement.

Not only does he associate himself with the Asante tribe in Africa, but he calls himself a maroon.

“I’m a maroon, I’ve escaped.” He certainly is not the follower type. He has sought out African history, culture and tradition, in a society that is not so forgiving to the likes of him. Yet, he lives and breathes this tradition every single day. He is who he wants to be, and has always been just that.

Influential persons in Joe’s life include Reuben Strawberry, Edward Wilmot Blyden, and Queen Nzinga. “The people that I really respect for defending their culture are the maroons of Jamaica and Suriname.” He mentions Queen Nanny, originally born in Ghana, as the leader of many slave revolts. “They resisted because they wanted freedom.” He has an extensive personal library, part of which he keeps in the studio; it’s part of the element.

One major achievement in Joe’s life is VIAFEST, the Virgin Islands Arts Festival. He, along with six other men established the festival because they saw a need for culture to be awakened. “We wanted to enlighten the community.”

In 1984, the festival, being the first of its kind started with a bang. Artists and performers from the BVI and USVI came out to display their work in arts, crafts and music. The event ran strong for three consecutive years, the last one happening in 1986.

What is art to this artist? “Art is not just another class, art is life.” Fellow cultural activist, Professor Gene Emanuel, expressed that his friend [Hodge] is certainly an “African artist who has contributed his art as a tool for resistance.”

“His arena,” said Emanuel, “although artistic, embodied the cultural forms and faces of resistance so that the beauty of the human struggle could be seen in its most beautiful forms.”

To some, he’s a peculiar man because he’s into that ‘African thing,’ as Joe puts it. “I wouldn’t like if I were anything else- It’s a pleasure being black.” He thinks that Black History is vital to our communities and would love to see some of the old tradition come back to the Virgin Islands, especially farming and bush medicine.

Joe’s paintings show the ‘bigger picture’ of old Virgin Islands customs; whether it be farming, fishing, dance, cockfighting, courtship, architecture, dress, food, even religion. One of his paintings, which he describes as “every woman” is a depiction of the Caribbean woman, beautiful and welcoming.

Joe speaks in narratives. He has a story for everything. Don’t look for a simple yes or no, he’s deep and he knows it. His answers to questions may leave an inquirer mystified. The highlights of his artistic career are his various types of knowledge; that of history, of understanding the society, and of understanding himself and being able to articulate that. He doesn’t give a list of awards, the selling of expensive paintings or other forms of recognition he has attained throughout the years. “My greatest accomplishment is my knowledge- all that I have acquired.”

Joe says that maintaining his persistence and not changing the course are what makes him stick out amongst other Virgin Islands’ artists.

What is Joe’s next move? Joe wants to be among the Akan people in West Africa, among the Njuka and Saramaka in Suriname- in an environment that is more conducive to his way of living, a natural way that is. It may not happen soon, but Joe’s the kind of man that goes with the flow, and satisfaction is found in the simple things of life. Joe has never married, but says, “I would love to, if I find a woman that thinks.” He hasn’t sold any million-dollar paintings, or lived in the lap of luxury and excess- and it’s all good.

“Getting up every day, painting, fishing, knowing that I’m alive, being conscious of who I am, talking to children and people about what’s going on- those are what make me tick, because they are a part of me.”

This artist can teach you about history, native culture, bush medicine, how to purge fish poison out of your body, even show you how to preserve food for a couple days without putting it in the fridge. Yet, at the end of the day, he is truly an artist.

“Art is the description that we leave behind, to let others know that we were here.” He paints as he speaks. “Art is our very heartbeat.”