At first glance, the figures in John Obafemi Jones’ work feel celebratory, with masks, movement, and boldly layered color, while also carrying memory, survival, and a deep sense of place that reveals itself the longer you look. His upcoming exhibition at Cane Roots Art Gallery, “I’m Still Here,” is a living memoir — one still being written.
Jones, who has been making art since the age of five and working professionally since graduating from college in 1972, describes the exhibition as a “prefix” to his story. “I’m still developing my story,” he said. “This show is a blurb of a memoir, some of the thoughts I’ve had over the years.” The title itself is intentionally open-ended. For Jones, it speaks to gratitude and continuity. “I’m still working. I’m still alive. I’m still creating. I’m blessed to be here, and I want to express that.”
That sense of arrival and staying is closely tied to St. Croix. Though Jones grew up in Brooklyn in a family originally from Georgia, his artistic and personal identity has been deeply shaped by the island since he arrived in 1978. “I love the culture. I think I’m part of the culture,” he said. “This is an expression of where I am now.” Many of the works in ‘I’m Still Here’ are directly influenced by Crucian life, history, and resilience, from plantation life and enslavement to the ingenuity of indigenous Africans who survived through creativity in food, music, and community.
Jones speaks with particular warmth about Crucian culinary traditions, recalling how ground provisions were transformed into dishes rich with meaning and flavor. Music and dance also loom large in his memory. He remembers attending quadrille at St. Gerard Hall on Friday nights, an experience that left a lasting impression. “It was like a family event. It was fun. I had never experienced that before,” he said. “I loved the community.”
After teaching in New York for three years, Jones came to St. Croix to visit his future wife and fell in love with the island.
For 35 years, Jones taught art at St. Croix Educational Complex High School, shaping generations of young artists alongside what he describes as an exceptional group of art educators. As a figurative expressionist, Jones says his work is driven by feeling. “I communicate what I am feeling,” he explained. “I’ve always had a need to express myself – to draw, to paint, to communicate.”
That need is evident throughout “I’m Still Here,” where figures carry both personal and collective memory. The works reflect not only Jones’ internal landscape but also the environment that has nurtured him for nearly five decades. “They had an opportunity to express themselves,” he said, referring to the culture and people who inspired him, a sentiment that mirrors his own artistic journey.
“I’m Still Here” opens with a reception on Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. and will be on view from Jan. 15 through Feb. 27 at Cane Roots Art Gallery, located at 24 Company Street in Christiansted.
For Jones, the exhibition is not a conclusion but a statement of presence, a reminder that creativity, like culture, is something lived, carried forward, and continuously renewed.
