Bob Marley

A signed, hand carved, hand pressed Linocut print of Bob Marley, limited to only 100 editions per colour way. I carved this as a tribute, to commemorate 40 years (11th May 1981) since the world lost this gentle soul.

The wonderful lyric “Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds” came courtesy of Bob Marley in my favourite song of his, ‘Redemption Song’. I watched his son, Ziggy Marley, perform this at Madness’ “House of Common” ska/reggae festival on Clapham Common in 2019 (remember when we used to go to festivals...?!). Ziggy looked and sounded exactly like his father, and it was an unexpected highlight of the day for me. If you get the chance to see him live, I recommend him!

BUT although commonly attributed to Marley, did you know that he was actually paraphrasing Marcus Garvey, 43 years earlier in 1937: “We are going to emancipate ourselves from mental slavery because whilst others might free the body, none but ourselves can free the mind”? Also Jamaican, Garvey was a remarkable orator who was responsible for the first important American Black nationalist movement in 1914: the ‘Universal Negro Improvement and Conservation Association and African Communities League’ - admittedly a big if a mouthful, so commonly known as the ‘Universal Negro Improvement Association’ (UNIA).

Sadly, Bob Marley died just a year after ‘Redemption Song’ was released, in 1981. For this reason it is sometimes described as his last testament; Bob had been diagnosed with a malignant melanoma three years earlier in 1977, and it has been suggested that there are echoes of his mortality within the lyrics.

Perhaps that’s why it moves me so much?

ITEM SPECIFICS:
This design is a signed, handprinted, limited edition of only 80 prints. As with all handmade items, each one will vary slightly, making it completely unique.
It is printed with water-based ink on Sunome Senaka, a fine 52gsm Japanese printmaking paper,