Paradise Close by Daisy Jones

Enter Paradise Close,

where an eternal off-season haunts a land previously known as the Caribbean. This immersive installation unveils traces of a vanished Black culture, challenging perceptions of paradise and cultural memory. Discover the elusive remnants of a world seen through the eyes of its visitors.

Eerie and immersive, a distant voice beckons visitors into the space and towards a peculiar portal, one that resembles a tanning bed, its bright light compelling them, like a bug to a bug-zapper. Daisy presents a Caribbean whose off-season has extended into forever. One in which Black people do not exist, and the memory of whom can only be traced through the ghostly remnants of their culture scattered throughout the exhibition.

Paradise Close explores the myth of paradise projected onto the Caribbean. Examining themes of cultural myth and memory, reimagining, and colonial extraction, the exhibition is envisioned as an abandoned, uncertain space, a ghostly echo of a Caribbean that once was, or perhaps of what it may become.

“Envisioning an uncertain future… a Caribbean whose off-season has extended into forever.”

Combining uncanny found objects with light, and sound, Paradise Close sees Daisy expanding her interrogation of the colonial lens through which we often view the Caribbean. Inspired by the culture and images stereotypically associated with it, Daisy invites the viewer to observe the dilution and skewing that can happen to a culture when it constantly imagines itself through the eyes of its guests.

Daisy’s work is inspired by her complex relationship with her motherland. Having only visited Jamaica once, she became aware that the Jamaica living in her mind’s eye was two-dimensional, resembling the stock images of beaches found on postcards from trips she’d never been on.

Ultimately, the exhibition aims to make its audience reflect on how they engage with the Caribbean and the dangers of placing these different islands under the umbrella of ‘paradise.’ Daisy proposes that, “by externalising parts of our existence that feel much like a colonial hangover, I instead wish for us to recreate ourselves in a future world, created for us by us.”

About the Artist:

Daisy Jones is an artist and filmmaker from North West London. Through the use of moving image, photography, writing and installation, she explores the nuances of identity and belonging, challenging conventional notions of representation and perception. Her subject matter emerges out of a response to significant moments within popular culture. Combining everyday images, along with archival material and her unique perspective, Daisy’s work subverts traditional narratives and amplifies voices that lie beyond the boundaries of the mainstream. Rejecting the presumed objectivity of the camera, she embraces her own gaze as a tool for uncovering hidden truths, while reimagining the world around her. Through continuous self-reflection and cultural critique, she aims to provoke thought and emotion in response to her work, inviting viewers to confront their own biases and the positions from which they view the world.

Daisy’s work serves as a testament to the resilience of Blackness, celebrating its extraordinary ability to shape-shift and mutate in order to survive within systems of oppression. She offers us a chance to bear witness to these moments of survival, drawing attention to the rare moments of transcendence obtained by a small few.

Since graduating from a BA in Fine Art Photography Daisy has been selected as a participant of SLG Film School and Into The Wild at Chisenhale Studios. She recently completed her MA in Contemporary Art Practice at the Royal College of Art. Her films have been shown at Roundhouse, South London Gallery & Tate Modern.

Find out more about Daisy’s work on her website: daisy-jones.co.uk

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