JUNKANOO: Portraits of the Soul

Brilliantly Captures the Essence, Energy, and Enigma of Junkanoo

By Tyrone L. E. Fitzgerald

“Every picture is a different portrait of the soul.”

Before my well-planned Emancipation Day Weekend in 2023, I found my soul.

Well, it was not really my soul I discovered, but the souls of many exuberant Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Junkanoo revellers – colourfully adorned in fringed crêpe paper, cardboard, and feathered costumes, depicting familiar and otherworldly characters from preconceived themes, and whimsically gyrating to the syncopated and pulsating sounds of the goatskin drum, horns, and whistle.

The multitalented father-son duo of Nicholas and Mike Klonaris captured these “souls” in a unique collection of creative and imaginative portraits of Junkanoo lead costumes, off-the-shoulder dancers, and musicians in a new, beautifully curated photography book titled, “Junkanoo: Portraits of the Soul”, designed and conceived by Italian photographer, Alessandro Sarno. The book’s publisher is Beat Schlagenhauf and the publishing company is Philauthia Publishing.

As I turned the pages of this treasure trove of Junkanoo mayhem, mystery, and magic, I was enthralled by the amazingly artistic, emotionally energized work of these two gifted Bahamian photographers.

Nicholas Klonaris, an “intuitive photographic artist” (this author’s description), began photographing the different Junkanoo groups every year from 1965 when he and his brother, Charles Klonaris, sponsored The Vikings Junkanoo Group, through their family business, Mike’s Shoe Store. The Vikings were the first to introduce three-dimensional costumes to the parades under the art direction of Charles Klonaris. The group later joined with other small Junkanoo groups to form the Shell Saxons Superstars.

Nick, as he is affectionately called by family and friends, has a meticulous “eye” for capturing the “in motion emotion” of his visual subjects, almost as if he could telepathically read their minds, empathically feel their souls, and magically Astro-project their body movements.

Nicholas’ son, Mike, also a notable Bahamian photographer, studio-recording engineer, and musician, began collaborating with his father in 1993 by documenting the Junkanoo artistry, ethos, emotions, and energy through their visual imaginations and professional camera lenses, often arriving well ahead of the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day Parades to photograph the celebrants of arguably: “The Greatest Show on Earth”.

“Junkanoo – Portraits of the Soul” is not only an exuberant pictorial journey into the heart, soul, evolution, and enigma of a musical celebration, which first started as a “ritual of bondage and working-class protest” as Percy “Vola” Francis, leader-emeritus of the Shell Saxon Superstars, describes it, but is also an informative and reverential guide into the character, composition, complexity, and camaraderie that define and distinguish Junkanoo from any other cultural ceremony or communal celebration in the world.

Personal testimonies, sociocultural proclamations, and elegant affirmations of the nature, meaning, impact, and importance of Junkanoo by many of its leaders, participants, enthusiasts, critics, and commentators, are juxtaposed amongst brilliantly photographed “Junkanoos” (as they are called colloquially), who seem to come alive spiritually, dance euphorically, and perform musically to rhythms and rhymes of these two parades, which collaboratively are called “a Celebration of Life”.

It is these attestations to the value and cultural viability of Junkanoo that stimulate debate and discussion by Nick Klonaris on the importance of showcasing visual, photographic works in local art galleries – which, in his opinion, has not been consistently and prominently done so in the past – in order to not only inspire more local photographers to preserve this all-embracing art form, but also to educate Bahamians and tourists of the social, economic, and cultural significance of our communities and the many ways in which we create, collaborate, and celebrate.

Mike Klonaris is more concerned with achieving a more equitable and level playing field for amateur and professional artists, whether well-known, well-connected, or not, of all genres (including photography), to have access to and support by local art galleries and visual spaces to introduce, showcase, promote, and even profit from their artistic works, in ways that are more representative of the tenacity and talents of all local artists.

The cultural relevance and social commentary that the book exemplifies gives it a literary and artistic richness and uniqueness from other Junkanoo photography books and memoirs in this visual genre. Arguably, it stands on its own as a masterpiece of unpretentious, “grassroot”, truthful, and revolutionary commentary of Junkanoo as both art form, cultural expression, and human endeavour, excitement, and ecstasy.

“Junkanoo – Portraits of the Soul” elevates the reader’s experience to an imaginary world of music, dance, artistry, and culture that enraptures the mind and soul. It is the culmination of painstaking work that reflects and reveals the passion of a father-son duo who not only organically complement each other’s vision, photographic style, and personal imprint, but who also purposefully supplant the efforts of Junkanoo’s constituents, enthusiasts, appreciates, and gatekeepers.

“Junkanoo – Portraits of the Soul” is indeed a celebration of the lives of a diverse and determined people, culturally motivated to protect, preserve, and promote a festival of souls in a communal dance of colour, artistry, music, and imagination. Most importantly, it is a love letter to The Bahamas, its people, history, culture, social norms, and future, as it celebrates 50 years of independence since 1973.

Arlene Nash-Ferguson, a Junkanoo educator, enthusiast, and one of the contributors to the book, articulated the essence of Junkanoo and, in truth, provided one of the most authentic, culturally important summaries of the book, when she said:

“Junkanoo reaches into the soul of the people of The Bahamas, and to the thunderous beat of goatskin drums and self-made cowbells, displays their untapped genius, and spontaneous ‘joie de vivre’” UA