Art historian Krista Thompson, in her book An Eye for the Tropics, defines the term Tropicalization as “the complex visual systems through which the islands were imaged for tourist consumption and the social and political implications of these representations on actual physical space on the islands and their inhabitants. …It characterizes how, despite the geological diversity within ‘‘the tropics’’ and even in a single Caribbean island, a very particular concept of what a tropical Caribbean island should look like developed in the visual economies of tourism.”

​

In this workshop Bettina Pérez Martínez will provide a brief overview of the history of tourism and its link to empire and colonialism, while inviting participants to reflect on their personal experiences and encounters with travel, tourism campaigns, and advertisements in the Caribbean. Inspired by the text An Eye for the Tropics by Krista Thompson, this workshop seeks to dissect the visual language and representation commonly used in tourism campaigns in the Caribbean to sustain colonial and imperial socio-political and economic relations. Participants are invited to reflect on the semiotic language used in advertisements, media, and personal experiences connected to tourism in the Caribbean. 

​

The workshop will be divided into two sections: One conversational section, where participants will be encouraged to think through the use of visual representation of tourism campaigns and its role in sustaining colonialism. In the second section, participants will be invited to create their own photo collages, based on visual language and representation previously discussed in the workshop. The goal of this exercise is to have the participants understand the visual tools and lexicon commonly used in tourism ad campaigns that help promote the imperial consumption of “paradise,” and then they will be invited to subvert these tools through satire and exaggeration. 

​

Aside from creating a more aware and conscious reading of the tools of tourism and empire, through the discussion and creation of tourism campaigns, this workshop aims to provide more ethical alternatives and approaches to modern-day tourism in the Caribbean.