Nude bpdy art is not promoted or sold. And if one can detect that the person is nude or topless, the job was not done right.
That is the word from Chetwyn Stewart, who is the local pioneer in body art at Crop Over and other major events.
Stewart said his PowerX4 band started using body paint around 2006 on men, but increasing numbers of women have been using it over the years. He said that body paint really took off about three years ago with revellers.
He said they used a specially imported paint that could not be removed with water, and that he brought in an artist from Trinidad to transform people for the occasion.
According to Stewart, the artist can take from 15 minutes to one hour to paint a person, depending on the design.
“We start painting people at 7 o’clock Sunday morning and we stop ’bout 5:30 on Monday morning [Kadooment Day],” Stewart said.
Responding to concerns that a few topless women, except for the paint, were spotted in his band during Grand Kadooment, Stewart said there were two at the most, and the one captured in the photograph was not done by his people.
He said it was not correct to say the women were topless, and there were certain requirements.
“We don’t allow women with large breasts to do it because we think it looks too vulgar. But I’ve seen some women doing it on their own and then come in the band with it, and people assume we do it. If you see three women doing it, it’s a lot,” he claimed, adding that it was more noticeable if the person wore more than a B cup.
Stewart dismissed the argument that the topless women were exposed.
“It’s totally covered in paint. It is less revealing than some of the women who wear these see-through tops that just got something over the nipple. The breast is totally covered [and] the whole area around the nipple is covered with this thing like a plaster, and then a white paint is put on and then the design is put on,” Stewart explained.
“Anything that we do, you would not even notice that they’re topless. When we did cricket for the ICT World Twenty20, the mermaid that I had on the beach that the whole world was looking at was topless. The shells on her were paint and people didn’t know. It depends on how you do it,” he said.
Insisting that if you use skilled artists, no one notices, Stewart said he did not think Barbados would reach the stage of Brazil or Argentina in terms of nude body art.
Another veteran bandleader, Trevor Chase of Ooutrage, who aired his concern on the popular Crop Over programme Brass Tacks earlier this week, told the WEEKEND NATION he did not think he would be brave enough to do nude body paint in his band.
He said his main concern was from a security perspective.
“If yuh interfering with somebody that is fully clad in a costume, with body paint, and you know that is all the body is wearing.
“I just want to say that the Barbadian spectator has not learnt to appreciate that the woman can, on that day, display or dress in a way that will depict whatever they’re trying to portray. But I don’t know if I would be willing to offer that in my band. I would have to think twice or I would have to have special protection,” he said.
Chase said he thought it was a serious security risk to the topless female unless the culture was like Brazil, where people cannot go around the presentation areas unless they were a part of the show.
“I don’t have a problem if the art is well done, but I don’t know if I would want to offer it in my band. I wouldn’t put my daughter in it, so therefore I wouldn’t put anybody else’s daughter in it,” he said.
Police public relations officer Inspector David Welch shared Chase’s security concerns, but he said he would have to do some research to see if any laws were being violated by the topless revellers.
“It is our view that being bare-breasted is a cause for concern. This concern will extend for security reasons, especially security of the person.
“We believe that if you are unclad and a miscreant realizes this and takes the opportunity to attack that particular person, especially in certain environments like darkness or a crowded area, it will be very difficult to apprehend that person,” Welch said.
His advice to revellers who use body paint is to choose wisely, and with safety in mind.
Questions have also been raised about any health concerns associated with the use of the paint, especially in the private areas.
General practitioner Dr Adrian Lorde said it was just paint, and there were no health issues that he was aware of.
Having used it for many years, Stewart said a firm “no”. He explained that the paint was specially formulated for the purpose.
Berger Paints, which is a sponsor of Crop Over, has been making body paint for the last 15 years or so and supplies the paint for Foreday Morning. Marketing assistant Karen Grant said it was made from filtered water, powder and dye and had absolutely no chemicals.
Grant said that like all Berger products, the body paint was tested in the in-house lab and there were absolutely no health concerns unless the person had an allergy.
She said the body paint had a short shelf life of three to five days and was made 24 to 36 hours before Foreday. It is easily removed with water and does not soil clothing.
Body paint for art is alcohol-based and is removed with alcohol or lotion.
