On Sunday, January 21 in the late afternoon, as Guyana approached the final cooling off of the day, artist Dudley Charles posed a simple question on a social media platform that stirred many: Where is this painting: Anansi Story? He followed these words with a brief indication of his efforts to ascertain its whereabouts and posted an image of the work. Dozens responded. And many shared his post. Eventually, an indication was made that it had never been lost. Anansi Story is still within the National Collection but it is no longer on display where it once was in the upper foyer of the National Cultural Centre. Therefore, it is no longer displayed where it is vulnerable to drinks, deliberate touch, and careless interaction.
Now, some may think that the “official response” is as we call it, ‘Nancy Story.’ In the absence of the work not having been seen in years (and Charles has been asking about it for about two years) and in the context of works going missing from institutional collections, I imagine some have said, “Pish posh. Nonsense.” As one respondent to Charles’ post said before the announcement was made, “It is in someone’s house.” Far-fetched? No! Where is the inventory of works within the National Collection? At this point, we rely on artists’ testimonies and our memories of what we have seen there over the years to garner a sense of what is in that collection.