When artist and activist for social justice Gabrielle Le Roux returned to Dominica in 2001, her goal was to draw strong women. However, the women in question all had something other than their strength in common – they were each over 100 years old. At the time, in a population of 71,000 people, the number of centenarians in Dominica was phenomenally high – 33 certified in birth certificates and church records, 42 more with oral verification from neighbours and family. There were also more than 100 people in their middle-to-late nineties. The large majority were women.

Armed with a letter of introduction from Raymond Lawrence, Chief Cultural Officer with the Cultural Division in Dominica, Gabrielle set off around ‘the island of longevity’ to meet ten of these incredible women.

“The Cultural Division liked the idea of a tribute to the Dominican Centenarians in the form of portraits and stories as a way of honouring them and sharing their history more broadly,” Gabrielle explains. “The letter from Raymond was a great help in establishing trust between myself and the women and their families.”

Gabrielle’s contact with the families and the women themselves was also made easier by the fact that she spoke Kweyol (Creole) fluently.

“I think if I had just pitched up at their homes without any common ground, I would have been perceived as an irritating white woman who had come to trouble them.  Because I had previously lived in Dominica, I had a connection with the culture of the island and for years had studied herbal medicine there, and in neighbouring islands.  This meant I could identify with what they were saying, and we could talk about the herbs they used, the food they ate and the lives they lived.”

All the women whom Gabrielle met and drew liked the idea that they would be remembered and honoured in this way. “Initially they, and their families, were a bit surprised and taken aback that people wanted to do this,” says Gabrielle, “but they all wanted a copy of their finished portrait.”

The journey
When completed, Living Ancestors, the name given to the collection of ten portraits with their accompanying stories, was initially exhibited at The Old Mill Cultural Centre (the HQ of the Dominica Cultural Division), and received an extremely positive response.

“It was really beautiful to see how the exhibition moved people to value the elderly,” remembers Gabrielle. “It inspired them to share stories of their grandparents as well as to recognise the social contribution of older women.”

Gabrielle was also delighted that so many people commented on how they found the women beautiful.

“We live in a completely youth-centric society in which to look like a teenager forever is what everyone is supposed to aspire to, so to look at these images and see beauty in them was to confront the prevailing stereotypes of what it is to be beautiful.  I have found that in the Caribbean, Africa and Europe, in fact wherever I’ve travelled with the exhibition, people have remarked on the beauty, spirit and dignity of the women.”

Having made such an impact in Dominica, the dream was to ensure these paintings could now be seen much further afield.

“The Centenarians liked the idea that their portraits were going to be shown in Dominica, but they really wanted them to be viewed beyond. For them it was very much about being seen in the rest of the world, and for some of them particularly in Africa,” Gabrielle explains.

“Ma Bradley said that it was very emotional for her that her portrait should go back to Africa because that would be the only way that she would return to her ancestral home. This was very moving for me, and made me feel the weight of the history. This whole project has always felt much bigger than me.  The life span of these women has covered so much history and the world has changed so much in that time.

“I remember marvelling when I was sitting with Ma Pampo that she was born in 1875, and here I was, sitting on her bed drawing her in 2001.”

From Dominica Living Ancestors went with Gabrielle to South Africa where the paintings and stories were exhibited at a cultural centre in Langa, a township outside Cape Town.

“Again, the exhibition was very well received, which was quite exciting for me,” says Gabrielle.

“In each place where the portraits have been shown I’ve had visitors’ books in which people write pages and pages of memories and feedback – how they feel, what they remember, how the exhibition makes them feel about themselves and their family’s own histories. Time and again I’ve been struck by how deeply emotionally moved people are by this work, which is why I feel so passionate about taking it around the world.”

The exhibition then moved on to Uganda. Gabrielle was attending the Women’s World Congress in 2002 at Makerere University in Kampala, where they showed the portraits in the University’s gallery as part of a broad exhibition of African artists. Yet again they caused a very emotional response.

Back in South Africa in 2005 they were exhibited as part of the African Feminism Conference at the Centre for African Studies Gallery at the University of Cape Town.

Amsterdam was the next stop on the exhibition’s journey, where the paintings were shown at Ninsee – a museum of the history and legacy of Dutch slavery.
During the five months in 2008 that it was there, the museum used it as a way to encourage people to write about their own history and experiences.

In 2009 Living Ancestors moved to the Museum of London Docklands for four months. With a large Dominican and Caribbean population in London it drew many new people into the museum – including the historic visits of four generations of Anastasia Thomas’s family.

When Avou Gachette, Anastasia Thomas’s 89-year-old daughter, came to see her mother’s portrait, it stirred up many emotions and memories, which led to Gabrielle asking her if she would be willing to speak at a seminar they were giving about the exhibition. She agreed, and Gabrielle recorded her talking about memories of her mother. These, and subsequent recordings, were made into a voice-scape which played at the most recent exhibition of the portraits at Shunt – an alternative art space located under London Bridge in the vaults that were built in 1831.

“I’d always wanted to have the portraits shown as projections, and they worked very well on those ancient walls as five-metre-high images of Caribbean women elders. It felt quite visceral, especially with the recordings of Avou’s voice singing and talking about her history, her mother and their lives back in Dominica. “

The legacy
As the paintings have travelled the world and created awareness, admiration and respect for the Dominican Centenarians, their impact back in Dominica is also still being felt.

Gabrielle is keen to highlight the work of her close friend and collaborator Natalie Charles (Sister Nats), a gifted Dominican woman, renowned for her knowledge about health and wellness throughout the Caribbean, who has specialised in the study of the Centenarians’ diets and bush tea traditions.

“After the exhibition, Sister Nats opened a Centenarian’s Kitchen and Gallery in which she showed reproductions of the portraits and their accompanying stories, as well as offering food inspired by the enormous amount of research she has carried out on what the centenarians ate,” Gabrielle explains.

In the Centenarian’s Kitchen (due to re-open in 2010) visitors are surrounded by the Living Ancestors portraits while eating dishes like Pampo Soup, made with calalloo and other ‘superfoods’ that research is showing contribute to longevity.

“This is such an important part of the continuity of the exhibition,” emphasises Gabrielle. “The fact that the portraits, the stories, the history, the science of longevity (in terms of the food and the herbs), are all available in one space. This is how I see the exhibition still rooted in Dominica – it wasn’t just uprooted and taken around the world without a backward glance while nothing happens at home – it has remained part of the island. The legacy of this exhibition is the kitchen and the work that Sister Nats has done.”

The future
Gabrielle is delighted that there is growing interest in the paintings throughout the world, but at this stage a big part of the dream is to return them to the Caribbean, and also for her to return to Dominica in order to extend the project. 

“I would love to return and draw the current-day centenarians and work with local historians and scientists gathering their histories and memories. It is nearly 10 years since the exhibition was created, and there are now many more centenarians in Dominica. Through going unrecorded, their histories are dying every day. I would like to be given the opportunity to go back and do the project justice – it still feels very much like a work in progress.”

Get involved!
If you would be interested in hosting the exhibition anywhere in the world, or in supporting, or being involved with, extending the project in Dominica, or for any further information please contact: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The work can be seen on University of West Indies online Gender Journal, CRGS: http://sta.uwi.edu/crgs/september2008/journals/GabrielleLeRoux-LivingAncestors.pdf