The story of the West Indies is one that has always been transient and the island of Nevis where my family is from is no exception. Nearly every aspect of the island, it’s structures and people have at some point been chattels. Older chattel houses supported on rocks remain a legacy for plantation life when at any moment possessions and house would be packed up and moved to another part of the island. People were no exception. Waves of immigration in the 1950’s and 60’s created an exodus of young people to England, Canada and the United States in search of an escape from poverty. These people were able to create new lives that soon replaced their old ones. Returning home became a ritual in which each visit would create a sense of displacement. Memories and attachments became moved and changed within the new landscape that the were confronted with. As time passed many returned to find that a lot of their family and friends had either died or moved away. I myself feel this every time I return. The romanticized images of my youth lay in stark contrast to the changes that are now taking place, causing me to create new relationships and contexts within the landscape. Nevis is in the midst of transition. Whenever I return I try to form some connection to what I am seeing and constantly am trying to figure out where exactly I belong within it.

Stacey Tyrell is a photo-based artist who’s work predominantly deals with themes of identity, race and heritage as it pertains to post-colonial societies and the Caribbean Diaspora. Stacey Tyrell studied photography at the Ontario College of Art and Design. In 2012, she was chosen by Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward as a top emerging Canadian photographer. Her work has appeared in exhibitions at the Royal Ontario Museum, the Canadian Museum for Immigration at Pier 21, and at the Center for Photography in Woodstock, NY. Tyrell’s images are included in the collections of Wedge, RBC Collection, Heritage Canada and Montreal Arts Interculturels and have been published in Pictures from Paradise: A Survey of Contemporary Caribbean Photographers, Canadian Art Magazine, ARC Magazine, Huffington Post, Prefix Photo, The Wondereur and Applied Arts Magazine.