Kacey Jeffers: Multitudes

Kacey Jeffers (b. 1988, Nevis) portrays his subjects with graceful astuteness, making pictures that invoke the compositional richness of editorial photography while also complicating ways in which Caribbean life is commonly represented. Rather than limiting his work to the Nevisian experience, Jeffers uses personal references to document local histories and foster connections between global audiences.

Jeffers began his education in aesthetics through the hit television series America’s Next Top Model. Growing up in Nevis where traditional career paths such as banker and lawyer, represented the highest aspirations, a 16-year-old Jeffers researched fashion images, with the intention to understand the intricacies of the industry. Although his introduction to image-making began as a model, it is behind the camera where Jeffers found his purpose.

Multitudes, Jeffers’ first solo museum exhibition, includes different projects that were created in Nevis between 2018 and 2022. Photographs documenting the inner lives of students enrolled in 14 Nevisian schools became his 2019 series, UNIFORM. The Postcards from the Future series includes images of the Golden Rock Inn, a popular boutique hotel, that complicate common perceptions of Caribbean tourism. Stunning as they are introspective, Jeffers’ photographs highlight the faces and bodies of the island’s community as it now exists and its history as a colonized island once under British rule. Multitudes is thus an exploration of individuality—the artist’s and the members of the community—and the shared experience of becoming vulnerable and exposed through the making of these images.

The exhibition is part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Exhibition Series, which addresses issues of race, diversity, social justice, civil rights, and humanity to serve as a catalyst for dialogue and to enrich our community with new perspectives.

We are grateful to members of the Frost Art Museum for their support of this exhibition. The Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum FIU receives ongoing support from the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners; the Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture and the State of Florida. Funding was provided by The Dorothea and Steven Green Endowment, FIU's African and African Diaspora Studies program at the Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs, and FIU's College of Communication, Architecture + The Arts (CARTA).

Kacey Jeffers (b. 1988), Untitled (Kevin and Winnielle by the Pool), Golden Rock Inn, from Postcards From the Future series, 2022, Fine Art Inkjet Print, 30 x 45", Courtesy of the artist