Page:“Trench Town Rock”： Reggae Music, Landscape Inscription, and the Making of Place in Kingston, Jamaica.pdf/1

 Hindawi Publishing Corporation

Urban Studies Research

Volume 2012, Article ID 585160

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/585160

Kevon Rhiney1 and Romain Cruse2

1 Department of Geography and Geology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica

2 Department of Geography, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago

Correspondence should be addressed to Kevon Rhiney, kevon89@hotmail.com

Received 17 June 2012; Accepted 10 December 2012

Academic Editor: Adrian G. Aguilar

Copyright © 2012 K. Rhiney and R. Cruse. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

This paper examines place inscriptions in Trench Town, Jamaica, and explores the ways these are used to reinforce, shape, or challenge dominant images of this inner-city community. On one hand, Trench Town is like many of its neighbouring communities, characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment, political and gang violence, derelict buildings, and overcrowded homes. On the other hand, Trench Town is iconic and unique as it is recognised worldwide for being the birth place of reggae music and home to a number of well-known reggae artists including reggae superstar Bob Marley. Today, Trench Town’s landscape is filled with inscriptions reminiscent of its rich cultural past. Linked to this is a conscious eﬀort by its residents to identify themselves with reggae music and to recapture and sustain the positive legacies that have made the community popular. This is manifested in the numerous murals, statues, and graﬃti seen throughout the community evoking past images of reggae music icons such as Marley and Tosh alongside renowned black leaders such as Marcus Garvey. These inscriptions are conceived as texts and are seen as part of a broader discourse on issues relating to urban spatial identity, commoditisation, exclusion, struggle, resistance, and change.

1. Introduction

Research has long been focused on the particular ways places are represented and regulated as well as how particular places encapsulate, communicate, and (re)shape cultural and spatial identities. Yet still, only limited attention has been given to landscape inscriptions (e.g., graﬃti, murals, signscapes, etc.) and the role these play in either reproducing stereotypes or challenging dominant images of places or group identities. Landscapes are constantly “written” and inscribed with meanings. These meanings can be read or interpreted as signs or texts about the particular values, identities, beliefs, and practices evocative of a particular era, social group, landscape, place, or space. An assessment of landscape inscriptions can therefore assist our understanding of the contested nature of places as well as shed light on the various geographies of power and identity that shape these places.

This paper examines landscape inscriptions in Trench Town, Jamaica, and explores the various ways these are used to reinforce, shape, or challenge dominant images of the community. Trench Town is a small inner-city community located in Kingston—the island’s capital. On one hand, Trench Town is like many of its neighbouring communities, as it has long been characterised by high levels of poverty, unemployment, political and gang violence, derelict buildings, and overcrowded homes. On the other hand, Trench Town is iconic and unique as it is recognised worldwide for being the birth place of reggae music and home to a number of well-known reggae artistes such as Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, and the Wailers. Today, Trench Town’s landscape is filled with inscriptions reminiscent of its rich cultural past. Linked to this is a conscious eﬀort by some of its residents to identify themselves with reggae music and to recapture and sustain the positive legacies that have made the community popular. This is manifested in the numerous murals, statues, and graﬃti seen throughout the community invoking past images of reggae music icons such as Marley and Tosh alongside renowned black leaders like Marcus Garvey. These inscriptions are conceived here as texts