Negro Aroused, Ocean Boulevard

Negro Aroused was created by Edna Manley in 1935 and was first exhibited in 1937. The statue was acquired by public subscription and presented to the Institute of Jamaica. In 1977, work began to enlarge the statue as a monument to the workers of Jamaica and the Workers’ Movement, which was formed in 1938. Edna Manley was commissioned to recreate the work in bronze at a scale three to four times larger than the original with the assistance of several young sculptors.

Unfortunately, the 7-foot version was destroyed in a warehouse fire before it was shipped to New York for bronzing. In 1982, a third version was produced. This version was closer to the original size but incorporated some of the changes which had been introduced to the destroyed version. In 1992, this version was enlarged by way of the “scaling-up” technique which is used by bronze foundries. The cost was met by public subscriptions.

Negro Aroused was declared by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust on the 13th of April 1995 and can be seen on Ocean Boulevard in Kingston.