Coffee, Rhum, Sugar & Gold: A Postcolonial Paradox

An exploration of the Caribbean identity through the work of 10 contemporary artists

The legacy of European colonialism in the Caribbean is explored through the work of 10 contemporary artists: Angel Otero, Adler Guerrier, Phillip Thomas, Leonardo Benzant, Lucia Hierro, Lavar Munroe, Andrea Chung, Ebony Patterson, Didier William, and Firelei Báez. Their work is inspired by products that have historically been produced in and exported from the Caribbean. The book, published to accompany a traveling exhibition opening at San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora, explores the complexity of the “postcolonialism paradox”—in which colonizers often felt superior and productive as they claimed territory for themselves while subjugating indigenous people and exploiting their land. Whether connected to the Caribbean by birth or by choice, the artists use their work as a means of examining the relationships within the power structure.