Small Axe: In Conversation with Poet Anton Nimblett

I am delighted to be the featured artist for Small Axe SX Art's January 2024 issue, in which I discuss the evolution of Another Poem, my large-scale mixed media collage that will be exhibited in The Plural of He exhibition at the Leslie Lohman Museum starting March 15, 2024.

L: A beloved photo of Robinson projected on my studio wall. R: The begins of “Another Poem”.

In this wide-ranging conversation, Nimblett and I discuss my artistic and political connections with gay Trinidadian activist Colin Robinson (1961–2021) and how his book of poems, You Have You Father Hard Head, ultimately spurred the creation of Another Poem.

“I read that book three times before I even thought about what I was going to make for the exhibition. What came out of it was his level of care for others. There are lots of poems in there about him taking care of friends who are dying and I found that incredibly moving. Lots of lines and rememberings of his life in Trinidad that are difficult. But also women who came to his rescue, in some of those poems. And to me that is the lushness again—there's an empathy that comes through that work. I was really moved by a lot of the imagery of his work.”

Being featured in Small Axe SX Art was a meaningful moment—not only because of the opportunity to reflect on Another Poem, but also because the conversation allowed me to speak to the layered inspirations behind the work. What struck me most in Robinson’s collection was how deeply care is embedded in the text. His words hold space for grief, intimacy, and resistance, often through tender depictions of caregiving, queer kinship, the agony of witnessing the devastation of an epidemic, and coming out the otherwise with heart-rendering guilt.

That energy stayed with me and shaped the tone, scale, and density of the collage. Through layers of mylar, painted paper, and ink, I wanted Another Poem to hold that same lushness and emotional charge — to create a visual field where empathy doesn’t soften the edges, but strengthens them. It’s an offering and a recognition, grounded in the politics of care and the beauty of collective and communal love.

You can read the full interview on Small Axe SX Art.