by JOHN BOYCE
johnboyce@nationnews.com
He went from the primary school stage to the Grand Kadooment stage, leaving both the revellers and judges in awe.
Cultural arts caught Gordon Ashby’s attention from a child and that connection grew even stronger through the years.
At primary school he gravitated towards plays, but Gordon knew that those small spaces could not contain the burning passion within for
the arts.
He took to the road as a reveller during his teenage years and played mas, but that only served to further pique his interest in the festival.
So, come Grand Kadooment, the architect took that internal flame and translated it into a giant Mr Harding, “flames” and all, causing it to so consume the judges that he took top prize of King of Crop Over theme.
Gordon, who is also an artist, recalled being in Aruba, Nevis, St Vincent, Jamaica, Martinique and Mexico and there [Mexico] he saw decorative chariots depicting bullfighting and it sent a chill down his spine – for all of the right reasons.
This caused him to take a deeper look and his own culture as he sought to conceptualise a means by which he could bring a grandeur presentation reflecting its richness, enhanced by the landship, tuk bands, stilt walkers and road tennis.
A neighbour of the late respected costume designer Robert Weekes, Gordon was effusive in his praise for him and thankful for the foundation he gave him for a cultural journey he has fully taken on.
Soon, Gordon left for Toronto where he pursued a bachelor’s degree in architecture, seemingly better equipping himself for a stage on which
he would play a significant part.
“I then said I needed to get into things more cultural and I contacted stilt walker Ifie and he taught me and I became a stilt walker,” Gordon told the DAILY NATION.
He harboured no fears as he “jumped on the stilts”, because for him it was like riding a bicycle – “you just have to keep moving”.
He entered the National Stadium on stilts in 1993 and all eyes were on him and Gordon loved it “because the more showoff you are the better it is”. And, he gave them their money’s worth.
Gordon proudly recalled walking stilts at Radio City Music Hall in New York with legendary Trinidadian mas designer Peter Minshall, seeing
it as a feather in his cap.
“A stilt walker stands four to five feet off the ground, but we look really tall. It’s an optical illusion.”
Gordon has had a few falls, but they did not daunt his spirit. He recalled “falling in slow motion” before the landings, but suffered
no injuries.
He understands the distinction that is made between professions, adding that many consider an architect and some other professions to have “serious people” not given to jumping and waving, but he set out to deliberately marry the two.
On Grand Kadooment he had a ball. Though he did not personally carry the “complicated” Harding’s Fiery March, leaving that responsibility for his friend “Kat”, it took nothing away from the pleasure he felt.
He thanked the National Cultural Foundation for their input in the costume and Wayne Smith for his collaboration in the venture.
Noting the increasing number of trucks for Grand Kadooment, Gordon said there needs to be more decorative to better reflect the culture.
In relation to the skimpiness of the costumes, he said that they are in great demand by the women.
“Though some other countries carry those and more conservative costumes, we have gone, maybe, like totally into the beads and feathers for everybody and left back the costumes that depict certain things.”
He said in Brazil they use both sets of costumes in their bands “and I think we got to look at that”.
While acknowledging the importation of costumes from China with beads and sequins, he said that a greater effort needs to be made in
the utilisation of local materials to keep that aspect of the culture alive adding that there is room for both.
The post King Gordon the mas’ man appeared first on nationnews.com.
